A Myanmar Cyclone Perspective from a Hurricane Katrina Survivor

The Myanmar Cyclone brings to mind the devastation wrought by Katrina. The death toll in Myanmar is beyond anything one can imagine. The Myanmar Cyclone had winds of 120 miles per hour and Katrina reached 140 to 150 miles per hour. The preparation for Hurricane Katrina kept the death toll to several hundred whereas the Myanmar Cyclone warnings were few and far between and people were not prepared for that terrific force of nature.

The homes in Myanmar are not built like the homes in Mississippi and the Mississippi homes were still destroyed. It is unfortunately easy to see how such devastation could occur from the Myanmar Cyclone in that very underdeveloped country. The first report I read hours after the Myanmar Cyclone in a Yahoo article online reported 10 deaths.

Now there are tens of thousands of deaths with the number rising. In Mississippi, we had help from many sources and the days that followed were still beyond anything I have ever experienced. In Myanmar, the people don't have the resources or infrastructure we had in Mississippi and the government is not allowing the full international aid to come into the country.

Those poor people who survived will take for ever to recover from the Myanmar Cyclone and we can only hope that the government allows the supplies to flow in. I truly can empathize with those poor people and they will need all the aid that the international community can provide. I found my first person narrative of the storm through the eyes of my wife and me in my computer files. My prayers go out to the people of Myanmar because their suffering is far worse than what I describe in the following narrative. We can thank God that we live in the USA and a disaster like the Myanmar Cyclone can make one realize how good we have it in America even when we have a natural disaster like Katrina.

Hurricane KATRINA - A Personal Experience

We stayed, we swam, and we survived!!!!

This is our story. My wife and I have been through many storms, and I, myself, through some of the worst -- Betsy, Camille and hopefully the last Katrina. We live on Colonel Wink which is a cul-de-sac. The end of the street is the water. Knowing what storms can do, we listened and watch every report on this storm. We decided at the last to stay, thinking it was going more toward New Orleans than here. So I got my mom dad and aunt to come to our home for the storm from New Orleans. (All in their 80's.) We had my brother, my wife's sister, and her cat.

Sunday went by so fast with boarding up and last details. Most of my neighbors left, and as they were leaving they left us the keys to their homes, cars, and phone numbers. Our close friends stopped and begged us to leave, but I convinced them we would be okay.

As the storm progressed it grew stronger and seemed to start heading more toward the coast. We watched and listened for hours. We at one point made make shift beds downstairs for the elderly, later deciding to move them upstairs after the latest report. All of our hurricane things, including the generator, etc., were downstairs. Up high enough and we were prepared for the storm. The more reports we heard and all the phone calls from friends and neighbors convinced us the storm was heading straight for the coast. It was too late to evacuate, which at the time was not even an option. We waited.

When it started we thought we were prepared, or at least hoped we were. The elderly relatives were upstairs and the four of us were downstairs. I forgot to mention we have two dogs, both Labs named Roux and Finn. They were down with us. As it started with the winds and rain we eventually started to lose power. It was then we started to prepare downstairs with what we needed. We had the portable T.V. and constant communication with the outside, via cell phone. As the storm progressed, we lost the T.V. and some cell contact. My wife and her sister were by the front door looking out, and before we knew their feet were wet. We went to get tape and plastic to secure the door from water and by the time we got back it was ankle deep. I said lets get the carpets and roll them against the door. After leaving to do so, the water was almost waist deep.

I knew we were in trouble then. My cell phone was in my bedroom high enough at this point. My wife managed to call her sisters and brothers to tell them the situation. While talking to them, the water continued to rise. We said our goodbyes and love for one another. My brother did ask if we had life jackets. This seemed to be a good idea at the time. By the time I reached the kitchen minutes later the water was over my wife's head. My brother and I were moving a heavy piece of furniture to the front door to stop it front opening.

After realizing that would not hold the door we got the generator and put it on top to hold the door shut. The water was now close to the top of the generator, realizing this we decided we needed to bring the generator upstairs to save it. We some how managed between the 4 of us to bring it up 18 steps. It was a large one. As we went down again to try and retrieve anything we could or needed, the waves had started and the dogs were swimming and really enjoying the water. My brother and I are both 6ft. 6in, and when the waves started the water was well up to our necks. We started shouting for my sister and wife to go up. I then called my dogs and grabbed their collars telling them to load up, and they swam with me up the stairs. After we all were up and okay, we had lost all contact. We stayed and waited. Between all of us we can't tell you what we did, how long it was or what the weather was doing. At some point we all went down to see the disaster that was waiting. It was unbelievable. The water had destroyed most of everything including homes cars, and some animals. My bottom floor was completely destroyed. I couldn't imagine water doing that type of damage without a window or door opening. We went out to check on the two other neighbors that stayed at the high end of the street and they had made out OK. Between us all we had no way of contacting others.

The whole adventure probably lasted 10 hours. I know the same day we were sitting in total shock thinking of the worse for our other family members that decided to stay in Diamondhead at the motel on I-10 west of Gulfport. All we knew was that in the last contact from them that the roof was lifting off the motel.

Hours later my wife's sister, niece and brother walked into our open home. I can't express the relief and happiness we felt seeing them. Knowing the family was all alive and well was such a relief. They already knew they had lost all they owned in Waveland, and my wife's sister who had stayed with us still did not know about her home in Bay St. Louis. She left with them and her cat to check out her situation.

The next morning, of course, there was no power. It would be about 8 days before we got any power back. I went to walk to my office about three to see the damage, and my brother borrowed a bike to ride to Biloxi to see his apartment. My brother's apartment which was less than a mile from the beach was miraculously undamaged. All around him there was devastation you could not believe. Our office had minor damage except for the part of the roof coming off.

After we regrouped, we borrowed a truck and moved the elderly relatives to the clean apartment in Biloxi with water and all they may need for a day or two. Of course they didn't have electricity. Over a period of two weeks, I reopened my office although there were not many patients to see.

Katrina hit us 2 ½ years ago and we still reminders of the devastation all around. My neighborhood has been restored and the Gulf Coast is coming back. Unfortunately, I know the effects of the Myanmar Cyclone will last much longer.