Erika Wilhite
Published: September 28, 2005
New Orleans is only a few hours from Pensacola, but, judging from the post-Hurricane Katrina news coverage, it might as well be another world for most of us. Rather than watching the hurricane and its aftermath from the comfort of our living rooms, Angie Jones, PJC’s student activities coordinator, saw it happen in person. Jones initially had gone to Louisiana to “swap cars” with her husband, who works there, and to stay with him for a few days. When mayor Ray Nagin began evacuating New Orleans as Katrina approached, Jones wasn’t too worried. She decided to stay Saturday night and drive back the next morning.
But by Sunday all roads out of the area were gridlocked, with bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching for miles. Jones and her husband had to settle for waiting out Katrina at a Crestwood Suites in Baton Rouge, just west of New Orleans.
On Monday, Aug. 29, when Katrina came ashore in Mississippi, Jones said Baton Rouge experienced “very heavy rain, minimal flooding and very gusty winds.”
After the hurricane, Jones said, it was a war zone.
“So many people in such a small area, no electricity…traffic was unbelievable, and of course you have the dangerous side, looting, car jacking. [And] when stores began to open, I had never seen so many people purchasing guns in my lifetime,” she said.
One night, while shopping for essentials at the local Wal-Mart, Jones overheard a conversation between the cashier and the woman ahead of her in line.
“She had two plastic tubs and a few other items. This was all she had,” Jones said. “She had lost everything and was trying to get a few things so that she could re-locate and find a job so she could support her kids.”
However, the woman did not have enough money to pay for what she had bought, so she asked the cashier to take off a few of the less essential items.
Jones gave her a $20 bill to help pay for the items.
“She wanted my name and address so [that] she could send me the money when she got back on her feet. I hugged her and told her not to worry about it and [then I asked] her if she would accept another $25 to help her and her kids,” Jones said. “She refused but it felt so wonderful to be able to give her the help she needed.
“I only wish I could have offered more,” she said. “This was part of the reason why I stayed as long as I did. I felt like being available to all of my friends and even [to] strangers was more important then sitting at my desk [with air conditioning,] answering phones and typing memos.”
As soon as they were able to, Jones and her husband made their way back through New Orleans. The couple has several friends that live in New Orleans and Metairie, right outside of New Orleans.
“When we were able to drive into Metairie, the one day the National Guard opened the parish, it was catastrophic. The homes, the trees, [the] mud and the smell was something I will never forget.”
“Most of our friends had damages to their homes,” Jones said, “but they were all able to get out and head for higher ground.”
One close friend of the Jones’ returned home to nothing.
“I drove by his place when we were allowed to return,” she said. “[He] lost his apartment and most of his worldly belongings. His apartment, the windows had been blown in and the roof was damaged and the inside of his apartment was exposed to the elements. I cried, knowing how devastated he must have been.
“He had been in his apartment for most of his life and [because of] his line of business [rigging and producing concerts], his apartment was full of signed autographs, tour shirts, very old albums – things that can not be replaced.”
Overall, Jones says she does not believe that the news media has covered the full impact of Hurricane Katrina.
“Actually the media only portrayed a portion of it,” she said. “The major coverage was on the CBD (Central Business District) and the 9th Ward.”
Although Jones agrees that these areas were heavily damaged, she wonders “about the smaller areas, like Chalmett, and Slidell…so many people I came in contact with couldn’t find out info about [those] areas.”