Gustav: Another Gulf Coast Hurricane
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Gustav seems to be weakening now somewhat, but I’m glad that I no longer live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My family moved to the Gulf Coast when I was about 8 years old, and I remember my parents constantly having to make the decision whether to leave or stay for a number of hurricanes. When you don’t live there, it seems like such an easy choice to make- LEAVE. But when that is the place you call home, the decision is not so simple.
I lived there 17 years, and until Katrina, we didn’t experience any really major hurricanes. When we left for Katrina, we expected to be coming back in couple days. My house and my parents’ house weren’t completely destroyed by Katrina, but we were only left with the foundation and the frame. We rebuilt, because we still think of it as home to some extent, but we moved to north Louisiana.
But even here in Shreveport, we are not totally secure from the impact of Gulf Coast hurricanes. The initial landfall of a hurricane is only the beginning. It usually travels inland through across several states as it weakens spinning off tornados and dumping large amount rain water. The shelters here are full, and the city is packed with people hoping for the best possible outcome and wondering when they will able to go back home.
