AP Photo by Danny Johnston Katrina evacuees Ja'Leah Trotter, 6, playes with her sister Tanny O'Gunghe, 11, as they wait in line for clothing at Fort Chaffee in Barling, Ark., Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005.

The Return Home: A Family Wades Through the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
by Katie Newingham, 09.08.05

With anxious anticipation the Loria family waited in a line of cars for two hours to see their home in Jefferson Parish, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana. After seeing the horrific scenes of area damage on television and in the newspaper this family expected the worst.

“But there was only mostly wind damage,” Frank Loria said.

Jefferson Parish is just west of the hardest hit areas in New Orleans. Even so, huge oak trees were down all over town and power is still out.

But shock set in when Loria went to check on his mother’s home in Covington, Lousiana, located on the northern side of Lake Pontchartrain.

“I drove to Covington … these 100 foot pine trees were snapped like pencils,” Loria said. “But I wanted to find my Mom’s home. When I did, it was completely under water.”

Loria said the difference between Covington and Jefferson parish was staggering. In Covington, it looked like “trees were thrown into homes.”

“Most homes will have to be completely rebuilt,” he said.

So far he’s not been able to visit New Orleans, where his small business sits in a high-rise downtown.

“This is the area where shootings are taking place,” Loria remarked.

Without knowing if his office still exists or what kind of condition it still exists in, work is on hold.

Loria's story mirrors that of many Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama residents who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Loria family was able to escape the storm and stay with relatives in safety.

But many residents in Biloxi, Mississippi were not able to get out before the storm hit. They had to rely on humanitarian organizations for their basic needs.

Operation Blessing was first on the scene in Slidell , Louisiana with a mobile kitchen. OB’s tractor trailer sized kitchen has the ability to serve 10 thousand meals a day.

“We met with the mayor of Biloxi and secured a site, “Yankie” Stadium, a high school athletic field with bleachers for feeding, sanitary and tent shelters” Steve O’Grady, Operation Blessing’s director of operations & logistics said.

So far, Operation Blessing has transported over 900 thousand pounds of food. They have partnered with organizations like the Salvation Army and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team to provide 310 thousand meals per day.

But even with the tremendous relief efforts in Slidell, much more needs to be done.

“We’ve devoted every one of our assets, we’re hiring trucks, we’re buying food and were doing all we can possibly do, but we are even going to do more,” Operation Blessing President Bill Horan said.

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