It’s a story that has never left us. And it never will. Seldom does a story have such a long shelf life. Most dominate the news for a few days before being replaced by the next big event. But when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with winds reaching 175 mph at its peak, it changed how many of our citizens live. Some are still trying to reassemble pieces of their lives the massive Category 4 storm took away.
To say it has been 10 years since Katrina blasted through the Coast and other parts of Mississippi is difficult to believe. And it’s for the very reason that I’ve already mentioned: Katrina’s story is far from over. Billions were spent on debris removal; and billions more on business and home construction. It is a new Coast with a new look, absent some of its most majestic coastline mansions, and in some ways still undefined.
On this 10th anniversary, Mississippi Public Broadcasting will bring you its documentary Rising Above the Surge: The Post Katrina Coast. It’s been a project that has been long in the making because Katrina and its aftermath is not an easy story to tell. Producer Katie Savage has done an outstanding job of putting together a documentary that looks at the Coast as it is today, with footage on destruction Katrina initially left behind. We will air our documentary on Aug. 26. As a bonus, we have arranged a partnership with Louisiana Public Broadcasting to show their documentary on the devastation Katrina left behind in New Orleans and in other parts of that state. (Check listings for the air date).
Anniversaries often serve as great opportunities to look back and to assess. With Katrina, that hasn’t been possible. Its story is still unfolding.
