HEY!
More Heroes:
Brothers come to rescue of stranded neighbours
Until Hurricane Katrina swept through the neighbourhood, North Shore Drive was one of the nicest places to live in Biloxi, Mississippi. Large houses with swimming pools and boat wharfs overlooked the normally gentle waters of Tchoutacabouffa Bluff.
Now, the street is caked in thick, crab-infested mud and the pools are filled with murky seawater and fish, reminders of a 25ft storm surge that flooded some of the houses to their roofline.
Among the residents of North Shore Drive are brothers Daniel and John O'Connor. Their story, and the story of how they saved the lives of several neighbours, is one small subplot in the epic saga of Katrina. But their experience is symbolic of the countless human dramas that occurred along the Gulf coast on Monday, August 29.
Like many of those who decided to ignored evacuation orders, the O'Connor brothers had lived through Camille, the 1969 hurricane that killed 256 people. Camille's storm surge flooded the gardens of North Shore Drive but did not reach the houses, let alone the roofs. "We were sat back fat and happy because we thought nothing could be worse than Camille," says John. "But it was."
Katrina's storm surge came gradually, more like a rising tide than a tsunami, says Daniel. He realised they had underestimated her when the water started rising against his ground floor windows, turning the living room into an aquarium. Soon, the glass gave way and water poured into the two-storey home, forcing Daniel and his British wife, Sara, upstairs. They sat in life-jackets listening to their downstairs furniture being spun around as if in a tumble dryer and watching as the water rose towards the roofs of lower-lying houses.
One of those houses belonged to their friend, Kathy Jenkins. She climbed out of her upstairs bathroom window into the water and clambered on to the roof. The 38-year-old clung there for three hours as the water edged higher and 100mph winds threatened to rip her away. "I said every prayer I knew and sung Christmas carols," she recalls.
Kathy's prayers were answered when the bright orange raincoat she was wearing caught the attention of Daniel through his rain-splattered window. The 45-year-old waded downstairs and managed to release his 14ft fishing boat from its trailer beside the house. He was joined by his 48-year-old brother, who lives next door, and together they motored through the choppy, debris-strewn water and plucked Kathy to safety. "These guys are heroes," she says. "If it hadn't been for them I would probably be dead."
Next, the brothers sailed from house to house looking for other neighbours in distress. Among those rescued: an elderly man recently recovered from a heart bypass operation and his wife, who could not swim; and Irvin Blanks, an 85-year-old D-Day veteran, who afterwards gave the brothers his war medals to thank them for saving his life. "If the storm had occurred at night I wouldn't have survived," he says.
In all, 10 people spent Monday night in the sanctuary of Daniel and Sara's upper floor. John has been bed-ridden there since wounding his bare foot on a submerged shard of glass following the storm.
It is not yet known whether every resident of North Shore Drive survived. Some homes have been deserted since the storm but it is unclear whether their occupants evacuated beforehand or were swept away by the flood.
Once the water receded, its brutal power was exposed by the devastation left behind. The floor of Daniel and Sara's living room is covered in shattered glass and bent nails, with smashed furniture and appliances piled atop each other. A large fridge/freezer lies open on its side, emitting a pungent smell of rotting food. In the garage, their sports utility vehicle was spun 180 degrees from the position in which it had been parked. Outside, the wall of the house facing the water is buckled and riddled with holes.
The O'Connors have spent the days since the storm salvaging what they can from the ruins. Soggy family photographs lay drying on a garden bench, while a collection of ornaments from Saudi Arabia, where the couple met, sit waiting to be cleaned.
Daniel fears the damage is so great that the house will have to be demolished. He and Sara, 42, must then decide whether to rebuild on North Shore Drive or move elsewhere. "It's hard to believe there will ever be another Katrina," he says. "But that's what we said about Camille."