Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The photos of the Mississippi Gulf Coast around Biloxi and Gulfport can’t convey the impact of the heart-wrenching destruction left by Hurricane Katrina, according to Red Cross volunteer Theresa Grimes.
Grimes, who recently returned from the area, holds up a tourism brochure showing 26 miles of scenic coastline along with photos of a number of hotels and casinos. None of those buildings exist any more ? at least none that she saw.
The hurricane left behind 990 miles of “ground zero” in Mississippi, Grimes said. “It has humbled me and made me realize my life is good. I’m not going to take for granted what I have and what I can get.”
Grimes, an Edward Jones representative, volunteered as operations assistant, helping to provide shelters, mass feeding and bulk distribution to hurricane refugees. Her duties were to make sure supplies, food and staff get to shelters. She served from Sept. 8 to Oct. 2.
“What I saw was just heart-wrenching,” Grimes said. She described houses blown away, stairs that used to lead to the homes now leading nowhere. One building, an old home situated on the coast, was eviscerated by gigantic surges. The waves crashed through the bottom floor and sucked everything on both floors out. All that remained was the shell of the top floor atop the ground floor structure. A casino in Biloxi showed up in Long Beach, several miles to the west.
In one of her photos, Grimes pointed to a casino building, “This looks like it’s right where it belongs, but it’s on top of a Holiday Inn.”
Grimes was never sure what the smell in the air was, she said. She thought it might have been stagnating water.
Every tree was dead from the influx of salt water. Grimes heard and saw no animals, no birds.
“Trees look like clotheslines of people’s memories,” Grimes said. Fallen trees are full of personal possessions caught by their branches, a washing machine in one case.
Where homes once stood, former residents marked the debris with their addresses.
Throughout the area, residents often put up American flags.
This was the condition of the area three to four weeks after the hurricane, with that much cleanup already, Grimes said, but the devastation is still indescribable.
Grimes and her area were spared the brunt of Hurrican Rita, but the wind and raged along the edges of the storm.
Not knowing what Rita would do, crews were busy preparing to deal with that hurricane. Grimes went to a local Sam’s Club to buy supplies. The store’s roof had been damaged and partially blown away during Katrina. While shopping there, the storm blew the rest of the roof off the building.
Residents “were scared to death,” Grimes saisd. “That scared me than knowing Rita was out there.”
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take to clean this up,” Grimes said. “I’t’s massive.”
Grimes worked with 11 shelters for 21 days, 16 hours a day, she said. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“My clients were very patient with me,” Grimes said. She appreciates the hugs and thanks that they have given her.
Grimes brings away a new perspective on her own life, and she also brought away a new friend.
When Grimes returned to Oregon, she brought Randa Elkins with her.
Elkins and her family live in Hattiesburg. Elkins’ apartment and her immediate family’s home were damaged, and her aunt’s home was completely destroyed.
Elkins is a nurse and a single mom.
“Working with her during the time I was there showed me the courage that these people have,” Grimes said. “Even though she currently did not have a job, she still committed her time to others. She was an extremely valuable asset to me.
“She could take me anywhere and get me there safely. All street signs and signals were down, so her knowledge of directions was valuable.
“She is a neat, neat person.”
Elkins told Grimes she needed a break from the work and asked to come back to Oregon with her. Elkins spent five days of rest and relaxation with Grimes, both sleeping in and “eating real food.”
Grimes is not planning to return at this point, she said. If she were retired, she said, she would head that way again.
She wanted to thank her clients and Edward Jones for understanding.
“Edward Jones made me feel comfortable enough on the business end to leave,” Grimes said.