Biloxi_BP's Mess

I took these photos on Sunday and Monday along the Biloxi beach:

A Manmade Disaster

Waiting to how bad the oil spill will be is almost as bad as waiting for a hurricane to hit.

Fighting Oil with Fire.

Update: 4/30/10

Five foot waves are overtopping the protective booms. The oil now drifting into the South Pass of the Mississippi River. The oil is expected to reach the Mississippi Coast on Saturday. I'm sickened by the thought of the potential loss of wildlife. Once the oil hits the marshes, it can linger for decades.

Click for more on the efforts to contain and clean the oil spill.

Update 2 4/30/10 Mississippi Gulf Coast cities declare a state of emergency.

This is going to be bad. We were just starting to see some positive recovery from Hurricane Katrina. This oil spill will affect everything from the shrimping industry, shipbuilding, casinos, and tourism.

Update 3 4/30/10:

NOAA forecast graphic

Over 100,000!

My video has had 100,192 views!

My Katrina: Four Years

Looking at all the rebuilding and reconstruction that has happened since Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast four years, I can still recall the feeling of despondency at all the destruction Katrina caused. One of the hardest places to visit was the beach at Gulfport. This is where I spent a lot of my childhood and where I took my son when he was younger. These pictures are also from my brother's neighborhood.





Biloxi's beach was annihilated by Hurricane Katrina. Buildings over 150 years old were just gone. Below is the harbor master's building.

This a view from Water street in Biloxi looking toward some condominiums that have since been torn down.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed the place I work. We've since rebuilt but this is what it looked like.






The FEMA trailers helped give shelter to those who lost their homes. 65,000 homes were destroyed in Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina.

This is a photo of Bay St Louis. In front the house used to be a road. It was completely washed out by Hurricane Katrina. Bay St Louis was inundated by an estimated 24 foot storm surge. It is an estimate because many of the instruments used to determine storm surge were washed out to sea. Many feel that Katrina's storm surge was much higher.


Below are some posts I did 4 years ago:

This one was done while waiting for Katrina. It was 9 days before I could post again.

This was my first post after electricity had been restored.

This was my first trip to Biloxi after Katrina.

My first glance of where I work.

Thankful for all those who came and helped us

Sobering stats

My New World

We are still rebuilding. I made the following video last year. I hope we and those in New Orleans continue to dance and to rebuild stronger, together.



I feel so thankful. Even though it's been hard these past four years, I thank HaShem that no one in my family lost their homes, that no one I knew lost their lives, and that things have improved tremendously. I cannot describe the joy my congregation felt as we dedicated our new synagogue in May of this year and that we will be able to have our High Holy Day services in our synagogue and not at the Keesler Air Force Base chapel.

Being Prepared

Today is the start of hurricane season. It will end in November. Mississippi Emergency Management has numerous lists on preparing your home in the event of a hurricane, what to do if you are ordered to evacuate, etc, etc. The CTA will provide transportation for those who need it.

There are so many things that need to be done well before a hurricane or tropical storm threatens. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best is all anyone can do when a hurricane threatens your home.

I've been through Frederick, Elena, and others. Nothing prepared me for the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused. It wiped out sights I've seen most of my life. Being prepared for the nine days without electricity, the month of boiling water, and the problems with phone lines was the easy part.

I and so many others along the Mississippi Gulf Coast were not prepared for the emotional devastation. Even through our tears, we vowed to rebuild better and stronger. In many ways our community is so much stronger. Our communities are adopting SmartCodes so that homes can withstand hurricane force winds. Many are having to elevate their homes 20 feet above ground to meet the new flood elevation requirements.

I made the following video almost a year after Hurricane Katrina hit:



The port containers are long gone from my brother's neighborhood. The place I work has rebuilt with the exception of new offices(I'm sorta of tired of these trailers we've been renting!). The miles upon miles of debris are long gone. There are still many empty spaces. It's take awhile to rebuild 65,000 homes but we're getting the job done.

Thursday, Congregation Beth Israel moved into our new home in Gulfport. For 3 1/2 years, we've been using the meeting hall at Beauvior Methodist Church for our services. Hurricane Katrina heavily damaged our shul in Biloxi.

We danced our Torahs in on Thursday. All of us, were home at last!


Our new shul is capable of withstanding 155 mph winds. It is 12 miles inland. Our plans called for being prepared for the worst. Our hope is for the best.

Shabbat Shalom!

This week's Torah portion is B'midbar. B'midbar is the wilderness. Since Hurricane Katrina, Congregation Beth Israel has been in the wilderness. We've been wandering for only close to 4 years but we are so close to being home. Tonight is the last night we'll have Kabbalat Shabbat services in the hall at Beauvior Methodist Church.

Next Thursday, we dance our Torahs into our new home. Friday, especially appropriate since it is Shavuout, we will hold our first Kabbalat Shabbat services in our new synagogue. We will no longer be in the wilderness.

Louisiana Brown Pelican

I took this shot the other day. It is a young pelican and they are a little darker than the full-grown adults.





The adult has lighter colored feathers as well as a lighter beak. I took this shot the same day:

Lazman Hazeh!

Sunday, we put mezzuzas on the doors in our new shul in Gulfport Mississippi. Our shul was in Biloxi but Hurricane Katrina damaged it heavily and we made the decision to rebuild further inland. May 28-31 is when we will be dedicated our new shul. Below are some pictures I took Sunday:

Rabbi Ira and Brad, Congregation Beth Israel's president, place one mezzuza on the door leading into the social hall:


Cicely, who had her bat mitzvah two weeks ago along with Rabbi Ira places one mezzuza on the rabbi's office:


Our new home from the front!


Lazman hazeh!

Made in Mississippi

Though it seems to recede further and further from people's minds, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Biloxi's Historic district took a big hit. The historic Magnolia Motel/Mardi Gras Museum still has to be repaired. Mary Mahoney's Restuarant opened within weeks. The Train and Toy Emporium re-opened soon after Katrina hit. But the little shops filled with the works of artisans and artists from Mississippi has been slow to rebuild. With one exception: the art studio of Bill Johnson. Mr. Bill has been at Croesus street for over 25 years. He is 88 years old and has been repairing his studio. He does a little painting and uses off-beat materials. He is using Styrofoam to carve coastal themes and it looks very interesting. He is also etching terra cotta tiles. His phone number is 228-435-9134.

Here he is in front of his studio working on some of the etchings:.


Some of the work he did while I talked to him:


The only proclamation on his studio:



Another interesting shop I visited was Rue Magnolia Pottery. Two sisters and a friend opened their shop in October of 2008. It is filled with fun items like belly-button mugs that have a piercing. One of the sisters creates unique ceramic jewelry while the other creates fun and colorful art pottery. Their phone number is 228-435-2828.

The sign in front of their store:


One of the pieces titled Fin-Fin. It is named after the notorious diet drug:


A lot of the pieces have vivid colors such as this star fish with a background of blue:


I liked this ceramic doll of a mother holding a child:


There are some unique creations in the pottery shop.

I was very excited about the new art co-op that opened at 626 Water Street. It hasn't been open very long. The co-op consists of photographs and artists from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Hattiesburg. I asked permission to take photos so I'm unable to show-off some of the amazing talent in the co-op. There is everything from abstract art to Impressionistic style with everything in between.

I hope you will visit each of these places as well as some of the other businesses that have opened up shop. It is good to see this historic area coming back to life. Some of the buildings in this section were built in the 1790's and there is a lot of unique architecture.

Goodbye, Old Friend

The Biloxi Library on Lameuse Street was unique. It's architecture was fitting for it also housed a small museum for the pottery of George Ohr. A new museum is being built and will house the unique works of the Mad Potter of Biloxi. I used to visit the library every two weeks and check out 4-5 books. Also, I would go and look at some of the exhibits of local artists and photographers. I love books and the Mississippi Gulf Coast lost two treasures because of Hurricane Katrina. The Gulfport Library on Highway also had unique architicture and when my son was small, he loved to go there and watch the koi in the water feature in front of the library. Both places were ones I visited often. Gulfport has decided it must be torn down. A groups is fighting that decision. The demolition has already started on the Biloxi Library. The picture below is from the Harrison County Library system web-site.



Monday evening I wanted to take pictures of the area around the Vieux Marche. The picture below is of the back of the library. The space for the Ohr pottery and other exhibits were held upstairs.



As I walked up Lameuse Street and stood in front of City Hall, I felt sadness. Even after more than years, sometimes the things we lost still hit hard. The library was a refuge for me and many others. The demolition is just more reminder of how things will never be the same.



A new library will be going up in Biloxi. It will be further from any potential storm surge. The Gulfport library will be demolished as well and moved further inland. Both are a passing of a way of life that was enjoyed by many. I can only hope that the architicture of both will be unique. For now, I'll just say goodbye to my old friend.

Our New Rabbi

When I posted about our new rabbi, I forgot to mention he was to give the invocation at the Republican Convention. In the post, I mentioned he was Congregation Beth Israel's rabbi during the 1980's. Here is a snippet of the invocation Rabbi Ira Flax gave:

The retired Air Force chaplain, now living in Birmingham, Ala., began by noting that “the song ‘God Bless America’ was introduced to this country 70 years ago, and in those seven decades, Lord you have indeed blessed us in so many ways.”

He continued, “We are here in this hall this evening safe and secure because there are men and women willing to serve others [and] they are standing guard against the enemies of freedom and ready to respond to the natural calamities that beset our lot from time to time. We ask you, God, to bless their efforts, bless their families, and bless us too.”

Flax also paid tribute to those suffering through Hurricane Gustav: “As our fellow citizens on the gulf coast emerge from the dark night of storm clouds and rain, may the light of God’s face shine upon them and bless them with peace.”

He is retired from the Air Force and was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi when he also served our community as its rabbi. I like him and many congregants were happy to see him back with us.

Hurricane Gustav: My Update

Co-workers, bosses, and I finished evacuating all equipment and files. Mississippians are taking Gustav's threat seriously. It may well be that we only receive a glancing blow but after Hurricane Katrina, no one takes anything for granted. Businesses are taking necessary steps. The local and state governments are doing what needs to be done and making sure those most vulnerable to threats from wind or storm surge are being evacuated. Boats were being moved to safer harbor. Yesterday, it was mostly pleasure craft. Today, the shrimp boats were on the move.

Shrimp boats on Biloxi's Back Bay heading for safety.



Some were already moored along the intercoastal seaway.


More and more National Guard are being seen on the streets. They were busy yesterday in towns such as Pearlington, Biloxi, Gulfport, and other coastal cities. They went door-to-door informing those in FEMA trailers and Katrina cottages that they had to evacuate.


Click here for information on Harrison County evacuation zones and other information.

Update: For those seeking more information about shelters, transportation, and special needs,click here for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency .

Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi 3 Years Later

Much has changed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I've become resigned to the fact that when Hurricane Katrina is mentioned, it will be as New Orleans and the "Gulf Coast" and Mississippi will not be mentioned. It still bugs me because we have been through so much.

Rebuilding is progressing at an amazing pace. There are still areas many which look as nothing has been done. There are some who when visiting for the first time have the impression that not much has been done. They see it without the knowledge what it looked like after the massive storm surge and winds of Katrina receded, They did not see the utter destruction nor the massive clean-up.

I see streets being rebuilt one house at a time.

Hancock County took the full-force of Katrina and is the slowest in rebuilding. Jackson County had the least damage and is almost fully recovered.

I live in Gulfport located in Harrison County. The further west you go, the slower the recovery. Towns such as Pass Christian and Long Beach are rebuilding but there still much to be done. Biloxi's Point Cadet, on the eastern tip, hasn't seen much rebuilding.

Map from Wikipedia

We've done a lot to recover and rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Thousands upon thousands of volunteers have helped and stood shoulder to shoulder with us as we pulled down mold infested sheet rock. As a community that stretches 66 miles from Lakeshore Mississippi in Hancock County to Moss Point in Jackson County, we stood together and vowed we would rebuild, better and stronger: together. And we are keeping that vow..

Beginnings

The surveyors were out at the property where our new shul Gulfport is going to be built. The flags are in place and soon, the building will begin. I will post some pictures later this evening.

Congregation Beth Israel in Biloxi has been through some rough times. The shul suffered much wind damage from Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to Beauvior Methodist Church, we've been holding services in their meeting hall. Their help is much appreciated and we cannot thank them enough for their hospitality and help.

That being said, there is a certain weariness that we are not in our home. It has been almost three years since Hurricane Katrina and we need to be in our own place. The days of our b'midbar should be over in ten months. It is possible the construction can be over in time for Pesach next year. Keep us in your prayers that this may be possible.

Since the building plans were approved a few weeks ago, there is many smiling faces and a great deal of excitement. At times, it seemed like we would never get to this beginning.

The new shul will be within walking distance from where I live and I'm going to take weekly pictures of the construction.

Going Forward

I discussed some of the problems I was having with Rabbi Myrna Matza. It did a world of good. It has led to me being asked by our congregations ritual committee to the contact for the National Jewish Outreach Program. I'm excited for numerous reasons. The first thing we're going to do is Shabbat Across America which will be on March 20, 2009. I've shared a few ideas on leading up to it but some will have to wait until our new shul is built.

And that brings me to some very good news. After the first plans were drawn up and bids came in more than double than what was expected, the building committee came up with different plans. We have new plans. We have a contractor. And it will have almost as much room as the first plans. And it is will within our budget!

Construction is expected to start in September of this year, one month after the 3 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The contractor estimates it will take anywhere from 6 to 9 months to build, so it is possible that we can be in our new shul in time for Passover next year.

Since I live about a five minute walk from the new shul, I'll post pictures of the construction. For now, this one will have to do:

Why Did the Heron Cross the Road?

Why did the yellow-crowned night heron cross the road?


To catch a fiddler crab!


I was busy taking pictures of birds and this fiddler crab nipped at my toes!

Flashbacks

I really, really thought I was starting to get over this. I rejoiced a few weeks ago when instead of feeling a sense of panic, I ran outside with my camera to take some shots of the awesome storm clouds. Even the multiple tornado warnings didn't faze me.

But yesterday I started having the flashbacks. There wasn't any thunder or lightening, just very strong winds. Those winds had an eerie keening that was reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina. It wasn't the strength of the winds yesterday that gave me a sense of unease. It was the keening.

During Hurricane Katrina, that keening was a constant presence for over 8 hours. In the months after, I would have nightmares about the sound of the wind. It wasn't so much the trees being blown down, I expect that during a hurricane. It wasn't watching parts of your sister's neighbor's house swirling and skipping along in the wind, I've seen that in previous hurricanes. In fact, during Hurricane Elena, part of my own roof was blown off.

No, no. The thing that gave me nightmares was the keening of the wind during Hurricane Katrina. The wind sounded as if though it wanted to destroy everything in its path and was searching for any means possible to get to you. From the sound of the wind, I just knew this was one bad, destructive storm. And it wasn't even the wind that caused the most damage.

After the winds died down and I was able to leave the shelter of my sister's home, the closer I came to my home, the more fearful I became. A 20 minute trip took more than twice as long. The firemen had done a great job of clearing major roads but the other ones were a maze to go through. Transformers were suspended in the middle of roads. Trees blocked the way and debris from damaged homes had to be avoided. And all of this was 12 miles inland, far from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge.

And the closer I came to my home, the more damage I saw. Somehow, I was one of the lucky ones. The homes next to me, behind me, and across the street suffered from major roof damage. My home had only the soffit and fascia on the south and east sides ripped off. No roof damage. No blown out windows. Heck, I didn't even have any trees blown down.

But it was the drive home that lent credibility to my fears that the keening of Hurricane Katrina's winds portended a very, very, very destructive storm. And then the news reports started coming in about the lethal storm surge that caused havoc from Lakeshore Mississippi to Escatawpa Mississippi. The 66 miles of beach front and a quarter mile inland and some places, a mile or more inland, were wiped clean. No homes, no businesses, no familiar landscapes existed any longer. Only the miles and miles of debris were left.

And yesterday, the keening of the wind brought back the first shock of realizing my world had literally turned upside down. Listening to the news on a battery powered radio came the realization that the place I worked out had been swept out to sea along with much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The frantic calls trying to reach my son to make sure he was okay. As I've written before, my landline worked just long enough that afternoon so that I could hear my son's voice and know that he and his Dad's family were okay. All of my family had stayed at my sister's. Now we had to wait to see if my brother's home close to the beach had survived and to see if my Mom and sister's home in Biloxi had survived.

My youngest sister didn't know if she still had a job. She did, but it would be almost a year before repairs were finished and she could go back to work there. My youngest brother no longer had a job either. Working close to beach or Biloxi's Back Bay has many benefits but 8 hours can change all that.

I was able to conitune working as the company I worked for began the long and ardous task of clean-up and then started the rebuilding. My office is still the trailer rented 3 weeks after Katrina. Work is supposed to begin soon. The main focus was to have the plant rebuilt and operational. My sister found and held two jobs until the place she worked before Katrina reopened the doors on the one year anniversary of Katrina. The place my youngest brother worked may or may not ever rebuild. He has been working steadily for a glazier since Hurricane Katrina.

Even though three of us were out of work for a short period of time and two of us had major damage to our homes, my family was one of the lucky ones. We lost no family memebrs and we lost no friends.

And the keening of the wind yesterday brought back a flood of memories. It is going to be a rough week. Once those memories come to the fore-front, it is hard to overcome the fear of having your world change in just 8 hours.

Dirty Little Secrets

I usually try to remain upbeat when talking about rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. You see more and more of them as the FEMA parks are emptied out. They are the ones you tend not to make eye contact. They are the homeless. Some are drug addicts. Some are alcoholics. But most are working poor who can no longer find affordable housing. Some are the elderly who live on fixed incomes.

Before Hurricane Katrina, an apartment could be found for $400 a month rent. Now you are lucky if you can find one at $800. Many of of the low-income housing was decimated by Hurricane Katrina. Biloxi's Back Bay Place was set to open just before Hurricane Katrina. All the units had to be repaired and two years later, it is now open.

Food prices, housing costs, and fuel costs are putting on more pressure. I haven't looked up the statistics but someone who was transferred to here from Las Vegas said it is cheaper to live in Vegas.

Part of the problem of rebuilding low-income housing is NIMBY. Time after time, I read about city council meetings where homeowners always say the location is not appropriate.

The Mississippi Development Authority wants to use $600 million to expand the Port of Gulfport. Proponents say 5,000 jobs will be created. But where will the people needed for those jobs live?

Hurricane Katrina literally wiped out volunteer programs that people could once turn to. Back Bay Mission is up and running. But many, like Feed My Sheep still have no place to help.

Most of the FEMA parks are to be closed sometime next year. As each FEMA park has closed, there are more homeless. Biloxi has done a Herculean task to reopen its subsidized housing. Gulfport lags far behind and the problem is exacerbated by not in my backyard thinking. People tend to think of low-income housing as a haven for drugs and crime. In fact, the majority who live there are the working poor.

While prices of everything have gone up, wages have gone up as well. The increase in wages, many times, still does not make up for the increase in the costs of living. The lack of low-income housing, the higher costs of living, the decimation of the support system to help those in need, and not in my backyard are the Coasts dirty little secrets. And no one wants to look the homeless in the eye. They are non-entities and someone elses problem. I fear there will be many, many more homeless in six months time as the FEMA parks shut down.

Before Hurricane Katrina, I never really saw the homeless. Now, there are too many to ignore.

Hurricane Katrina: Kessler Air force Base-Biloxi

I could never picture Kessler Air Force Base being under water during Hurricane Katrina. I knew the hospital at Kessler was heavily damaged as was the Commissary. But I still couldn't picture it in my mind. Since my Dad had been in the Navy, I had base privileges until I turned 18. Kessler Air Force Base was familiar to me. Even after watching the video below, it is still hard to believe:




The Commissary has been demolished and it will be rebuilt in another location. The hospital has reopened but still not at full capacity. The video briefly shows Larcher Chapel. That is were my congregation has been having Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services since Hurricane Katrina.

A lot of the base housing was damaged and had to be demolished. New housing is going up.

I believe the plane that is in the video is one of the ones that used to line Larcher Ave. and was not in service.