Katrina Reflections: Are You Ever Prepared for the Worst?

It had been nearly 25 years since Hurricane Frederick, the storm that would never be forgotten by the residents of Washington County, Alabama and surrounding areas. At least that's what they thought as people remembered that they had promised to never be caught unprepared again. I was a journalist for the local County newspaper, and as we traveled through the small communities that made up Washington County, we could see families applying plywood to their windows, and securing lawn furniture and fixings; Already, the winds were picking up and the skies were showing signs of bad weather.

The news stated that everyone living near the Gulf was in the wake of Hurricane Katrina , and the days were growing shorter by the preparations. Emergency Lists were broadcast on which items to have during the storm; Batteries for flashlights, and plenty of candles because there would be no power; bottled water, and extra containers of water-we were out of water for nearly two weeks in certain areas of the county. We were also instructed to gather as much dry goods and canned food as we could and have ice and coolers handy to help us keep food for survival. I know it may sound a bit much; but these things are soon found to be as necessary as breathing, especially during a time, when your entire community is at loss for any source of power, water, gas or opportunities to travel to get anything...and even if you were able to travel to a local store-how would you be able to shop when the place is without power, water and gas just as you are? Now, there were some people/stores and facilities that obtained/possessed generators, but even that wasn't enough power to keep your cold/frozen goods at proper temperatures to sell.

Speaking on traveling, it's definitely a smart thing to fill your vehicles up with gas, and also have an extra container of gas readily available because the gas stations may be out of service as well.

Within the wake of Katrina, our community was ripped to shreds; I know it took New Orleans and many other cities by storm and under, and while the world was trying to repair those cities, our city was still in despair. During the high winds and strong, hard rainfalls, trees were falling not only across the roads, but on top of people's homes and cars; Pieces of people's homes were found on other homes maybe a mile away. It took the town nearly a month to clean up afterwards, and some areas will never be the same.

I believe that no matter how well you prepare yourself for natural disasters, you are never fully prepared for the devastation that comes afterwards....