|
April
17, 2008
I recently received an e-mail asking how safe our beaches and
the water is, meaning the Mississippi Sound, which is the shallow
portion of the Gulf of Mexico and the waters between the mainland
and our barrier islands. This came from someone who used to vacation
here, and wanted to know if they should come back this year. I
think they would have a nice time and have enough to do to have
an enjoyable visit.
Here
is my reply as honestly as I can make it:
I think
that the beaches are as safe as they were before the storm. After
huge rainfalls, portions of the beach are put off limits due to
runoffs (streets drain into the sound, as does anything on them
such as dirt, motor oil and possibly dog poo), but a few days
later the warnings are lifted as the sun cleanses it. I think
the officials want to be safe.
The beach is undergoing a gigantic replenishing project by dredging
sand from the sound, so the sand is nice and clean and the beaches
are wider. I'm not sure if they have finished, but most of Biloxi
and Gulfport beaches have been done. This year they let the beach
vendors come back with their lounge chairs, their wave runners,
etc, and although not as many as they were before, at least the
beaches are now mostly open to the public.
Prior to this, last year they mounted massive cleanups of the
beach and a number of yards out into the sound. They even had
brigades of boats hauling up debris from quite a ways out. There
is no accounting for how many tons of debris and building materials
from destroyed houses ended up in the Gulf. Officials have tried
to clean it and make it safe.
The beaches look pretty, but the boardwalks that ran the entire
length of the beaches haven't yet been replaced. They have started
working on them, but it will take a while. The biggest obstacle
is that they are completely redoing Highway 90 from East Biloxi
to Henderson Point in Pass Christian. Don't know how long it will
take to complete, but they are working hard, and laying 4' sidewalks
on the north side of the highway. Traffic is down to one lane
each way in many places. By summer, much of it should be competed.
Biloxi has replaced all of the lighting along Highway 90, and
Gulfport may have completed replacing theirs.
To make a long story short, it is always wise to wear beach shoes
when walking on the beach (any beach) because of dead catfish
that wash up. They do clean the beach, but not daily, and catfish
bones can cause a bad wound. However, catfish usually only wash
up after a bad storm, along with seaweed and other trash that
careless people have thrown overboard their boats. As for playing
on the beach and boating, it is fairly safe. Honestly, I don't
think I would want to go swimming, but lots of people do.
The water is probably safe.
Harrison County has a new water park that is supposed to be fantastic.
It's somewhere around the fairgrounds. If you come, I think you
will find enough to do. Get the Friday Marquee section of the
Sun Herald and there are lots of things listed to
do.
Unfortunate
Sign of the Times
Biloxi and the entire
Gulf Coast is experiencing a horrible litter epidemic. People
weren't the greatest at not littering before Katrina, but the
tons of debris seems to have desensitized people (locals and visitors
alike) who think nothing of throwing their trash out of the windows
of their vehicles.
Those of us who care are doing all that we can to help prevent
litter and to clean it up. Still, there are those ignorant slobs
who weren't raised right and who don't care who trash our lovely
Coast.
If you notice how bad
it is, please forgive us. We are working on the problem. Most
caring citizens are terribly embarrassed at the litter problem.
Not everyone is a slob. Some of us go out and clean up the messes
that others make, but it's a never-ending task. So, please don't
judge all of us by the litter that some people create.
All we ask
is that, if you use our beaches, please keep them clean. If you
see anyone else littering, ask them to pick up their trash.
If you come to Biloxi, please don't dispose of your litter on
the sidewalks and streets. Do what you can to prevent litter.
Other Updates:
Both the Bay St. Louis
Bridge and the Biloxi Bay Bridge to Ocean Springs have been completed.
They both are high-rise bridges with six lanes and a bike/walking
lane.
There are still many
places along Highway 90 that haven't been rebuilt. There are long
stretches of nothing. Efforts are being made to require property
owners to clean up slabs and control weeds.
On a positive note, condos are being built, the McDonalds in Biloxi
is being rebuilt, and the Wendy's by Edgewater Mall is back. Dillards
has just reopened in Edgewater Mall, and shops are opening slowly
in the just rebuilt Edgewater Village.
The Popps Ferry and
Cedar Lake area is grown like wildfire with a new shopping center,
and the Sanghani Boulevard area of D'Iberville north of I-10 has
exploded.
We lost both movie
theaters around Edgewater Mall and the one on Courthouse Road,
but there are multiplex cinemas in D'Iberville and Crossroads
Mall.
Plans are underway
to construct a Biloxi Lighthouse Park to the north of the Biloxi
Lighthouse. A visitor's center will be built that replicated the
Danzler House, which sat on that land.
Below is a
brief history of Katrina:
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane
Katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, so a lot
of things on this page are no longer available. Most restaurants
have been wiped away along Highway 90, and they are slow to be
rebuilt. Many places of entertainment and historical significance
are gone for now.
Highway
90 was closed until around Christmas of 2005, but is now open
to four lanes most of the time all up and down the Coast.
Nearly everything south of the railroad tracks has been flattened
as if a bomb were dropped on it. As of now, debris and rubble
are almost gone, and slabs of places not being rebuilt are being
crushed and hauled away. It seems that condos will take over as
landowners decide not to rebuild and sell to land developers.
Lets hope that some of the homes will be rebuilt. Two lanes are
open on the new Bay St. Louis bridge. Two lanes are due to open
in November on the Biloxi Bay Bridge.
It will take years to rebuild. Hotels were ruined; the Holiday
Inn Express on Highway 90 was flattened by The President Casino's
gambling barge. Other hotels on the beach were badly damaged or
wiped away, however, a lot of motels and hotels have reopened.
Three of our casinos are operational at this time, with more to
open on land, and the Beau Rivage is scheduled to open on the
anniversary of Katrina. The amusement parks on the beach were
destroyed. Most of the harbors and piers on the beaches were torn
up. Biloxi does have a harbor operational behind what used to
be the J. L. Scott Marine Education Center.
Things
are looking better, but it will still take years to recover completely.
Our Town Green was severely damaged, but a new gazebo was constructed,
new sod gives it a solid green carpet, and it is now home of the
Hurricane Katrina Memorial, which is a sight to see.
Biloxi is doing fine - it is accessible except from the east through
Ocean Springs, as the bridge from Biloxi to OS is still destroyed
and work has not yet been started to replace it. Plans are in
the works for a 95' high bridge. We just don't have much to offer
down Highway 90, but there are things to do and places to see.
To be honest, we miss our restaurants along the beach, but there
are others inland.
Mary Mahoney's opened before Christmas in 2005, and is as fabulous
as ever!
Many
sightseers have come to the Coast, and many people have come to
the casinos and to visit friends and relatives. Ocean Springs
has plenty of good restaurants, and downtown seems unaffected
now. It did lose a lot of beachfront property, and many homes
were lost, flooded, and damaged around bayous. Gulfport is doing
fine, but has the same problems along the beachfront as Biloxi
does... things were wiped away. We would love to have you come
visit; just don't expect it to be the way it was last summer.
Our magnolias are blooming, the birds are singing, the dolphins
frolicking in the Sound, and people are working very hard to recover
their homes and their lives
October
2007: Biloxi is trying to get property owners to remove slabs
and remains of structures and remove all debris and rubble and
keep their property mowed.
September
15, 2005
Damaged Homes
In today's Sun Herald
newspaper, there is a report on housing damage. Of the estimated
171,000 homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, 65,000 are destroyed,
38,000 have major damage, 51,000 have minor damage, and only 1,300
homes are unaffected. This means that nearly everyone was affected;
either wiped out, or with damage that can be repaired. Pass Christian
has had approximately 70% of the homes in that area destroyed.
In Long Beach, WLOX just mentioned that houses south of the railroad
tracks are either standing, or complete rubble. Only about 20
houses are left in Waveland. There is no cleanup going on there
right now.
Biloxi lost at least 5,000 structures (destroyed), mostly on Point
Cadet and in East Biloxi.
Out of about 14,000 hotel rooms, only about 2,000 were usable
after the storm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are
interested in viewing some photos and reading narratives about
how Katrina affected the area that I live in, you can go to my
Katrina
pages.
On
behalf of everyone on the Gulf Coast, I would like to thank all
of you who opened your homes, your hearts and your checkbooks
to help our "refugees" and persons displaced. Thank
you for your donations, your prayers, and your good wishes. To
those of you who volunteered your time to help cook for all of
our residents who evacuated and who have yet to be able to return
home, bless you. To those of you who came down to help clear roads
and yards and parking lots and church grounds, thank you. Without
your help and support, we could not have dealt with what we have
had to go through. Please keep us in your prayers, and in a few
years, when we have rebuilt, we want you to come back to visit
us. We will rebuild.
LSN
- September 18, 2005
Here
it is, now February 19, 2007. Teams of people are still coming
down, now to help rebuild homes for those who didn't have insurance,
and who have no means to rebuild. The number of response teams
working on the Gulf Coast are too many to even count. Every church
denomination has teams. Nonprofit organizations have teams. Even
soap opera crews have come down to help, and to draw attention
to the fact that there is still way too much to do before everyone
has a home to live in. Thank you, General Hospital and The Guiding
Light. We will remember you.
Some people have come down three or four times (or more). They
do it because they want to make a difference - to help. They go
home feeling like their lives are now worthwhile. Many have said
that they have gotten more out of their experiences here helping
to build homes than they have given. God bless you all!
As
you drive down the beach on Highway 90, it is still dismal. Little
is being rebuilt because of pitiful insurance settlements. State
Farm has raped the Coast and robbed them of the protection they
paid for. They are in litigation because people are fighting back.
State Farm was deceitful, change the wording of benefits after
the storm, and destroyed engineering reports that showed a home
was destroyed by wind because they wanted to deny coverage and
say it was all done by water surge. They basically told their
adjusters to ignore any other cause of damage except for water,
which they don't cover. They have made billions in profits; their
profits were up in 2005 and way up in 2006, yet they are refusing
to pay claims that are owed. Now, they say they won't write any
additional homeowner policies in South Mississippi.
Right now, they are in deep doo doo with class action lawsuits.
Who would even want a policy written by them? If I had one thing
I would say to you, it would be to beware trusting State Farm
with your homeowners insurance. If you are with State Farm, you
might as well know that they will screw you over however they
can. They should be ashamed of themselves; instead, they are laughing
all the way to the bank.
February
19, 2007
For
more information about Katrina Recovery, go
Here.
This is not a complete
list, by any means:
Damaged
or destroyed buildings, landmarks and historical places:
Beauvoir - Jefferson
Davis's Home - Severely damaged, two buildings destroyed. Plan
to rebuild.
April 2008 - They have just opened the grounds
for Katrina tours, and the home is nearly rebuilt.
Tulles-Toledano Manor - Destroyed - a casino barge landed on top
of it.
McDonalds by Edgewater Mall and in downtown Biloxi - gone.
The Biloxi McDonald's is being rebuilt.
Historic Danzler House gone
O'Charlies on the beach wiped out and won't be rebuilt..
Cajuns Chicken wiped out.
Biloxi Yacht Club gone
Wendy's on the beach was destroyed, has been rebuilt and is open.
Keesler AFB - severe damage to housing, classrooms, hospital.
Estimated $500,000,000 in damages at Keesler alone
Hospital open, housing being rebuilt, new
commissary and BX under constriction.
Temporary Commissary, small BX
Maritime Museum completely destroyed
Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs - Badly damaged, but
back in operation and rebuilding
Ship Island - Camille Cut is three times wider. Fort Massachusetts
is standing, but has water and debris and lost some of the marble
from the top and all wood portions. . The reproduction of the
Ship Island Lighthouse (just rebuilt three years ago) is gone,
as are the ranger station and the concession stand. The boardwalk
across the island is gone. The piers are severely damaged. They
plan to rebuild by 2008.
They are now making excursions to Ship Island.
Edgewater Village was gutted; Edgewater Mall damaged and expected
to reopen in a year.
Edgewater Village is not rebuilt and new
businesses returning. The Mall is back to normal.
Ryan's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden washed away along US 90.
The Biloxi Lighthouse still standing.
Repairs are planned to renovate it and make
it safe.
Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge gone, but the new 95' span should
have two lanes open by December 2007..
The Highway 90 bridge across the Bay of St. Louis - Two lanes
open, with the remainder nearly completed.
Both bridges have been rebuilt and are better
than before.
Bottom floor of the library and the home of Jefferson Davis home,
Beauvoir, destroyed. Is being rebuilt.
Popps Ferry Bridge - heavily damaged and closed for a while, but
it opened Christmas Eve of 2005.
Libraries all over the Coast flooded. In
Biloxi, the Margaret Sherry Library and West Biloxi Library are
now open.
Gulfport Main Library is gutted, as was Biloxi's main library.
Neither has reopened; a group is fighting
to keep the Gulfport library from being torn down.
Sharkshead Souvenir City gone. Basically everything on the beach
below the highway has been washed away.
It will be rebuilt. The old one has just
been demolished (what was left of it).
Gulfport State Port badly damaged, but are now loading cargos,
especially bananas.
Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches in Gulfport washed away.
St. Peter's By the Sea has been rebuilt
and is now open.
The steeple of historic Hansboro Presbyterian Church - torn off
Gone: Waters Edge II apartments; Diamondhead Yacht Club, the old
neon McDonald's sign on Pass Road, Ocean Springs Yacht Club, all
of the public piers..
Massive damage in east end of the City of Biloxi.
Almost total devastation primarily south of the railroad tracks
near Lee Street, Point Cadet and Casino Row.
Railroad bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs - torn up. The
tracks have been repaired, as have the bridges, and trains are
again chugging across the Coast.
Beau Rivage still stands - was flooded on the bottom floors, but
is now open.
Hard Rock Casino, originally scheduled to open this week, suffered
50 percent damage. Opened summer of 2007.
At least five casinos out of commission - all casino barges were
washed onto Highway 90 or across the road from 90 and some dropped
onto other structures. The President landed on the Holiday Inn
Express. Grand Casino landed on the Tullos-Toledano. Most are
open now.
Casino barges have all been demolished and carried away.
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, which sits on US 90, is
gone.
Idiot contractors working for MDOT removed three miles of perfectly
good trees along H'way 90 in Gulfport.
They planted new trees not native to sandy
areas and didn't water them, they died. Then they planted palm
trees. They are trying, but not batting a thousand yet.
(Some of the
above information taken from WLOX News Web Site. September 5,
2005. For information on other coast locations, click on: http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?s=3807744
This page is old; much more has since been declared wiped away.
Basically, the Coast
as we all once knew it exists no longer. Most of the historical
buildings and landmarks are totally destroyed, along with many
homes and businesses. The media has shown pictures, but unless
you could see things with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe
it.
Most of the media concentrated on New Orleans, because the news
(accurate and inaccurate) coming out of there when the levees
broke were more sensational. Were it not for the flooding, New
Orleans would not (and did not) have the hurricane damage and
total annihilation that we did.
The people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast are strong. They are
resilient. Some have left and will not come back. Others are still
in the planning stages of leaving to make homes in other areas.
But some will rebuild because this is home.
Some of our people are finding their way
back home.
It will look different the next time you come down. Only time
will allow us be able to picture how our landscape will look in
future years.
Affordable housing and apartments are still
needed.
|
