Harrison County
Harrison County, Mississippi was hit particularly hard by the hurricane and the storm surge. Its two largest coastal cities, Biloxi and Gulfport, suffered severe damages and a number of casualties. By September 1, 126 people were already confirmed dead. Smaller coastal towns were also severely damaged. Much of Long Beach and most of Pass Christian, which bore the brunt of Category 5 Hurricane Camille in 1969, was leveled. Nearby Gulfshore Baptist Assembly, a camp owned and operated by the Mississippi Baptist Convention, has been permanently closed, and recommendations have been made to build a new facility elsewhere.
In the tourist town of Biloxi, widespread damage was reported as several of the city's attractions were destroyed. The lower 3 floors of many high-rise casino-hotels were gutted, as in the former Grand Casino of Gulfport, or the Imperial Palace (IP Hotel and Casino) or Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Many restaurants were destroyed and several casino barges had been washed out of the water and onto land. Residents that survived Hurricane Camille stated that Katrina was "much worse," with a storm surge reportedly reaching further inland than the previous catastrophic storm. Katrina's wind estimates were lighter than Camille's, and the central air pressure was slightly higher, but Camille was also a much smaller storm so the greater impact of the storm surge may be due to the size. Keesler Air Force Base, also located in Biloxi, reported extensive damage to its facilities. Gulfport authorities reported to news station CNN that up to ten feet of water covered downtown streets. The Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge was also totally destroyed (see Figure BB), and US 90 had heavy debris and severe damage to the roadbed.
Thirty of the confirmed deaths in Harrison County were at the St. Charles apartment complex, said Kelly Jakubic with the county's Emergency Operations Center. The apartment complex was reported, by local news sources, to have collapsed with dozens of residents inside. FOX News also reported deaths at the Quiet Water Beach apartments.
Rebuilding in Harrison County proceeded at different paces in different towns. The town of Biloxi was greatly helped by the resurgence of the casino industry, while smaller towns such as Pass Christian did not have an economic base with which to start the reconstruction effort. By January 2007, almost a year and a half after the Hurricane, Pass Christian had still not yet begun rebuilding its city buildings, and volunteer labor was still involved in rebuilding private homes in the town.
The ECHL Mississippi Sea Wolves, which play in Biloxi, was forced to suspend operations for two years because of the aftermath of the hurricane causing damage to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The team resumed play in 2007.
Read more about this topic: Effects Of Hurricane Katrina In Mississippi
Famous quotes containing the words harrison and/or county:
“[Rutherford B. Hayes] was a patriotic citizen, a lover of the flag and of our free institutions, an industrious and conscientious civil officer, a soldier of dauntless courage, a loyal comrade and friend, a sympathetic and helpful neighbor, and the honored head of a happy Christian home. He has steadily grown in the public esteem, and the impartial historian will not fail to recognize the conscientiousness, the manliness, and the courage that so strongly characterized his whole public career.”
—Benjamin Harrison (18331901)
“I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name,if ten honest men only,ay, if one HONEST man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America. For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)