This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.
- Barbour attended a preview of the new exhibit “Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers, Photographs by Melody Golding.” This year marks 20 years since that fateful day.
Former Governor Haley Barbour calmly walked through the Two Mississippi Museums Friday afternoon, taking in the black-and-white photographs depicting the remnants left behind on the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina’s wind and water.
Barbour would stop, say a few words and walk another few feet before recalling the days after the natural disaster that claimed over 200 lives swept through southern Mississippi August 29, 2005.
Barbour described the 30+ foot storm surge that day as “catastrophic.”
Estimated damage from Katrina topped $100 billion.
Barbour was visiting the museum for a preview of a new exhibit titled Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers, Photographs by Melody Golding.
Golding captured the angst and resilient spirit of Mississippians in a couple dozen photos during a storm that devastated the Coast. Nearly twenty years later, the effects are still evident, a reminder of what was lost as well as how far those who stayed to rebuild have come.
Barbour’s wife, Marsha, went to the Coast to persuade people to evacuate on Sunday, the day before landfall, but many residents had hurricane fatigue, having experienced other recent storms. She spent Sunday night in south Mississippi.
The next day Katrina struck, and the governor was told he could not travel because of the extreme winds topping 125 mph.
On Tuesday, Barbour arrived in Biloxi at 7 a.m., where he boarded a helicopter to survey the damage from the Louisiana to Alabama state lines.
“I thought, my lowest point, was all those bodies under all that debris,” he said, noting it was a miracle only 238 people died.
During meetings with Mississippians who had lost everything, he heard stories of hardship and learned a new phrase, “I’ve been slabbed.” Barbour explained that the phrase meant that all that was left of a person’s home was a slab of concrete upon which the structure once stood.
“People got knocked down, they were down and out,” he said. “But they picked up their britches and went to work helping.”
Barbour remembers people helping their neighbors, no matter their differences, he said.
Mississippi’s federal delegation came through as well. Former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran pressured Washington to send more emergency aid and faster, Barbour said. Cochran and former U.S. Senator Trent Lott were able to work with Congress and then-President George W. Bush to rush unprecedented recovery assistance to the area.
In a pause between photos, the former Governor paused, saying with pride, “The state came together.”
The exhibit opening is the first in a slate of programming marking the 20th anniversary of the devastating storm at the Two Mississippi Museums.
The exhibit tells the story of Mississippians’ resilience in the aftermath of the catastrophic storm through photographs by Golding, a photographer, author, and artist from Vicksburg. Hurricane Katrina-related artifacts from the MDAH collection are also on display.
The free exhibit will be on display March 8 through November 7.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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