# Kat-rita



## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Fellow Outbackers, We had a request to try and consolidate what our hurricane Outbackers have gone through in the past few weeks and to give them a place to keep us up to date with what they are doing. So, I have made an attempt to collect messages from them up to this point (29Sep05) and we are hoping they will post new updates as things continue to get better. It looks like only 4 Outbackers were affected; kkf5e, uoutcamping2, BigLeaf and rtavi. At least, those are ones we have heard from. Let me know if any previous posts were missed.

Anyone can post here, but don't be offended if after a couple days the mods remove those posts that aren't directly pertinent to the history of these two events. Thanks!

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From kkf5e on 27Aug05
Running From Katrina, Big storm on the way

Well, we were getting ready for a nice camping trip next weekend, but because of our proximity to where Katrina may make land fall, we may be pulling out and heading "somewhere"...... who knows we may be dry camping in a Wallmart parking lot someplace!

I know there are a couple of others on this list that are close as well and I wish them well!

They dont even know where this thing is going exactly yet, but I want my family safe. It funny, before kids, I weathered many hurricanes and never thought of leaving. The worst one was Betsy back in the early 60's (I was a kid myself then!) which put over 10 feet of water in some areas east of New Orleans....... Now, I dont play around with my kids. If it gets closer, I'm out of here!

--------------------
Outback Sydney Edition model 30 RL-S

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From BigLeaf on 27Aug05
Running From Katrina, Big storm on the way

Hey group, 
We live in SE Louisiana, where that monster hurricane has its eye on hitting. We are about to bail out of this area, since we live only 40 miles from New Orleans, which is dead center of the forecast track. The thing is expected to be a category 4 storm, winds about 145 mph before the eye comes on shore. Every since Hurricane Betsy hit in 1965, there has been talk around here of the "Big One", the one that will fill Lake Ponchatrain and flood New Orleans and the surrounding area. We think that THEY think this in the "Big One."

Where we are, we won't get category 4 winds, but probably upwards of 80 mph, so the Outback has to leave, and we are going with it. We are heading west, to Lafayette, hoping that the storm doesn't jog that way.

If anyone else from round here and Mississippi is in the path of this storm, we pray that all goes well for you, that your property and your lives are protected.

God bless and good luck.
V. 
--------------------

2006 23rs Outback
2005 Dodge 2500 cummins
Me, the DW, son, daugther, 3 cats (Peek, Bear, and Opossum)

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From uoutcampin2 on 1Sep05
Running From Katrina, Big storm on the way

I wanted to let everyone know that Kirk, Myself and the 2 dogs are OK and hanging in there. We packed the TT with everything we could and hitched up Saturday night and headed west to Lake Charles LA and stayed for 4 nights at Jellystone park. We left there yesterday because the A/C in the outback decided to kill out on us. And when the temps here are around 95-100, this is not an option. I was able to find a Keystone Laredo dealer that handles Carrier units in Lafayette LA. So yesterday I dropped off the TT at the dealer and told them to take extra special care of my TT because it is now the only home we have. The compressor went out. What was happening is when the a/c would kick on, the breaker would trip. Well the reason why was because the A/C was pulling 29 amps. But anyway, when you guys look at the news and see where water is to the roof tops, well one of those subdivisions is where our home is. They say that it may be as long as 2 or 3 months before they can fix the flood walls and get all the water pumped out of the city. And then I wonder if our house will be structurally sound after being under water for that long. But I am going to run now. I will check back in with you guys whenever I can find a internet connection again.

Pray for us

Chris 
--------------------

Chris & Kirk
2005 Outback 27RSDS
Equal-I-zer / Prodigy Controller
2004 Ford F-1 Fiddy 5.4 Super Crew XLT 
3.55 Rear W/Anti Slip
Travel Buddies:
2 dogs, Great Dane and small Mix Breed

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From uoutcampin2 on 4Sep05
Running from Katrina, Big Storm on the way

Well everything is still the same. We did receive an advance of $2500 on our flood policy and $2000 on our homeowners policy. We have our flood with State Farm and the homeowners with Allstate. So with this money we can start to get back on our feet again. We had seen on the news a guy who went down our street with a boat shooting video and as of yesterday, the water is still at roof level. But at least by looking at the 2 story homes, it appears the water level has dropped about 2 feet in the last 6 days. So with a 10 foot water level if it continues this way we are looking at least 5 weeks until the water goes down. Then we will have to wait for the debris to be cleared from the roads for us and the adjusters to get there to see the damage.

As far as the outback, we still donâ€™t have it back. I am hoping that it will be ready by Tuesday. We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers from everyone. We are staying at Kirkâ€™s parents house for the time being but no sooner I get a full check from the insurance company, we are going to rebuild here in the "sticks" where Kirkâ€™s parents live. We have both been wanting to escape the city life and move to the sticks so I think the writing is now on the wall in florescent paint. We both believe that things happen for a reason and this is a sign that we cannot ignore. We still have jobs. I was given 2 weeks pay from my employer, (Winn-Dixie) so when that runs out and I have the outback fixed, I am going to drive to my other office that wasnâ€™t affected much from the storm and set up the outback behind the building and camp out there for a couple of weeks. I also will start looking for new employment away from the city. They are telling me that Dow has opened some type of plant in Plaquemine LA and hopefully they may have some IT or Telecommunications positions available. That plant is very close to where we are now. Kirk is a funeral director and embalmer so with the current situation in the city, he will be extremely busy for a long time. At this point all we can do is keep our heads up and keep positive attitudes. We both had a good laugh the other day. I was looking for my little phone book that I thought I packed and when Kirk noticed I was looking for something he asked if he could help and when I told him he sat there for a second then started making blooping sounds of bubbles coming to the surface of water. When I looked back at him we both busted out laughing. That was his way of telling me I left it at home. But hell what else can we do. Got to keep the spirits up!

Well Iâ€™m going to run, so I will keep everyone updated as we go but like NDJOLLYMON said, this will not progress quickly.

Chris 
--------------------

Chris & Kirk
2005 Outback 27RSDS
Equal-I-zer / Prodigy Controller
2004 Ford F-1 Fiddy 5.4 Super Crew XLT 
3.55 Rear W/Anti Slip
Travel Buddies:
2 dogs, Great Dane and small Mix Breed

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From BigLeaf on 6Sep05
Running from Katrina, Big Storm on the way



> 4: We have friends that live very close to New Orleans and have not heard from them yet.


Joel, this is Vicki, bigleaf. I posted separately and we are all back safe and sound. but about New Orleans, no one lives there anymore and no one is allowed in the parishes near, like Jefferson, St. Bernard and on the Westbank. If they are home and even if they have electricity, cellphones are working intermittently, but you can try text messages, they seem to work. Land lines work sometimes. Sometimes they don't. Today is the first day we have internet access which is why no one has heard from us yet. They may not be able to call you or recieve a call if they are home. So don't worry too much. If they evacuated, they are probably fine if they are allowed home. If not, they are still camping is all. Thankx for the prayers Joel and the offer.
Vicki

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2006 23rs Outback
2005 Dodge 2500 cummins
Me, the DW, son, daugther, 3 cats (Peek, Bear, and Opossum)

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From BigLeaf on 6Sep05
Survived Katrina, Too, Not doing so good with the aftermath.

Hey forum.

This is Vicki, BigLeaf. Last you heard from us we too were hightailing it away from the storm, like Keith and his family.

We live in Raceland La. in Lafourche Parish. We ended up at Bayou Wilderness NE of Lafayette. We met an outbacker there, but I didn't have time to find out if he gets on the forum.

Sounds like Keith, et al, were in Slidell or Covington, North of the Lake. Sorry to hear of the damage, and I understand how it is. They let you in, let you see your property, tell you to get what you can carry and get back out. There is an exodus into Jefferson Parish right now that is clogging Hwy 90 in St. Charles Parish where I work. I see the vehicles piled high with peoples belongings and pray for them. God, how hard it must be. I work with friends who live in Chalmette. One of them is back at work and they lost everything except the two changes of clothes and the few belongings they brought with them. Another, we haven't heard from yet. We hope he and his family are okay. I have others I work with that live in the city. One on St. Charles Ave. and another near Oschner Hospital. Again, one we know is safe, one we don't. But the worst is that there is a girl we work with who ended up at the Hyatt near the dome the night of the storm. We don't know how she got stuck in New Orleans, but she ended up being one of the many evacuees at the dome waiting and waiting. She finally got a ride on a News van going to Baton Rouge on Tuesday and is now in Dallas with her father. She told us some of the things that she saw, things I won't repeat on the forum, but it was horrible. She was terrified to sleep and walked the mezzanine the entire time she was there. She said she saw people die in the most horrible ways. We are trying to get her to come home, back to work, back to us who will put her up and take care of her and be sure she gets what she needs, but she is so traumatized that we wonder if she will ever come back. Please pray for her and for all that lived through that particular nightmare.

Its been a very trying time, very emotional. We came away with only four downed trees, no damage to the house at all. Thank you God. We had electricity by weds night, and cable by Saturday. We have all the food and the gasoline and the water we need, and some to spare, which we shared. We are very fortunate and blessed. Others didn't fare so well.

I hope all other Outbackers in the path of this storm are okay. Glad to be home. Glad to see Keith and fly well, even if they aren't home yet. Hang in there.

God bless you all, and thanks to all who asked about us and prayed for us.
Vicki

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2006 23rs Outback
2005 Dodge 2500 cummins
Me, the DW, son, daugther, 3 cats (Peek, Bear, and Opossum)

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From uoutcampin2 on 6Sep05
Survived Katrina, Too, Not doing so good with the aftermath.

Vicki -

Glad you guys made it ok. Because the funeral home (Mothe's) that Kirk works at in Algiers still doesn't have power he is working at Falgout funeral home in Raceland and Houma. Small world. He may actually be right next door to you. Anyway, I know that I put New Orleans in my profile but I actually live in Chalmette. We are actually about 3 miles from Steves RV. With the Jefferson Parish deal, I only wish that I can get home and grab a few things that I need and see just how bad it is. I know that it isn't a good idea but I guess it is too hard to let go of everything we own except our truck and outback. To top it all off, the Exxon plant in Chalmette is now leaking some kind of oil sludge into the water. I guess it isnt a good idea to lite a cigarette in Chalmette! POOF! You guys take care.

Chris 
--------------------

Chris & Kirk
2005 Outback 27RSDS
Equal-I-zer / Prodigy Controller
2004 Ford F-1 Fiddy 5.4 Super Crew XLT 
3.55 Rear W/Anti Slip
Travel Buddies:
2 dogs, Great Dane and small Mix Breed

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From BigLeaf on 8Sep05
Survived Katrina, Too, Not doing so good with the aftermath.

Thankx to you all for the prayers and thoughts. Thanks to you, Jan and to Chris. I hope your husband is doing okay over here. It hasn't been easy. I know we are pretty much back to normal, but it sure isn't for many of us. I heard about the Chalmette refinery. One of my coworkers lives there and is now staying at my friends house until they can move in with his inlaws in Jefferson, I think. Its some nasty stuff they are leaking into the water. The Lake won't be good for anything for years and years. My friend from the Superdome is heading back to Baton Rouge as we speak. She is tough, and a fighter. She won't let this beat her. I hope she gets a sense of family from the love and concern that so many expressed at work. We were literally sick to hear she had had to endure some of the things she did. CNN is broadcasting some pretty profound pictures from the Civic Center which is just connected to the dome by the walkway to the mezzanine (?). So many who have relocated may never come back and that is disheartening and sad as well, but then you got the other part of New Orleans. The part that never says die. I saw on the local news that there are bars open on Bourbon Street, serving liquor and music using generators and there are patrons enjoying the service. Go figure. 
Thank you again for all the prayers, and also to the to outbacker offering a place to ride it out. There are so many displaced, so many whose lives are now in upheaval and chaos. They don't know where they will be living, where their kids will go to school, where they will be working. I spoke to a Fedex driver today who lived and worked in Kenner at the airport hub, who is now working out of Houma and drives back and forth to New Iberia. Thats about a 250 mile trek, round trip folks. So much has changed. 
God Bless.
Vicki 
--------------------

2006 23rs Outback
2005 Dodge 2500 cummins
Me, the DW, son, daugther, 3 cats (Peek, Bear, and Opossum)

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From uoutcampin2 on 10Sep05
Katrina's Outback Victims, Helping fellow Outbackers

My company (Winn-Dixie) did something similar for some of our displaced associates without homes. The distribution center located in Hammond Louisiana rented a massive class A, 2 class Câ€™s and a couple of TT from a company in Ohio for some of the associates and families that no longer have a home. On top of this, they sectioned off an area of the property and ran sewer, water, and 30/50 amp service to us. Since I had my outback and now am homeless as well, I pulled in along side of the rest and joined in. But I have to say, the outback still turns heads! I just love to hear them say "Compared to the other RVâ€™s here yours is gorgeous". And of course I just say "I know". Got to love it! Anyhow, they have been cooking everyday for everyone and the manager that runs this massive distribution center is bending over backwards to make sure everyone is comfortable. Itâ€™s not even just in Hammond, the entire company is doing the same thing. Whether it is hotels, campers, or just using blow up mattresses in the offices, they are doing what it takes to help out. It is companies like Winn-Dixie that go that extra mile to keep their associates happy and help in any way they can. I'm so grateful for this. I just feel that I cannot express enough how thankful I am. If it wasn't for them, I don't know what else I would do. I guess next time my cell phone goes off at 3am because a server crashed and they cannot ship groceries, or any other technical problems come up in the middle of the night, I wonâ€™t complain anymore.

Chris
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Chris & Kirk
2005 Outback 27RSDS
Equal-I-zer / Prodigy Controller
2004 Ford F-1 Fiddy 5.4 Super Crew XLT 
3.55 Rear W/Anti Slip
Travel Buddies:
2 dogs, Great Dane and small Mix Breed

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From rtavi on 27Sep05
Katrina Campers, Living in camper after disaster

We survived Katrina! Our last posting was August 29, 2005 and today is the first day we have had internet since that day. We are happy to be back on-line. We didn't have substantial damage, just lots of trees down and no power, water, gas, phone, cable, etc. Gradually everything is getting back to normal here in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Gulf coast is still flattened and we see RVs heading down I-59 morning and afternoon on our way to and from work-trailers, motor homes, even pop-ups that people will live in until their homes are rebuilt.

We lived in our fiver outback for about 2 weeks. Our fridge kept food cold, we could cook, and my husband's mom was able to have her own little nest while we slept in our house at night. I think she was more comfortable than we were with all the windows open. She slept under cover after 1:00 am while we still sweated inside the house. Our camper made our lives much easier for those two weeks.

The day before the hurricane reached shore, we hitched our truck to the fiver and turned the whole rig into the wind. Bill then filled all the tanks with water to make it heavy. (We had 50 gallons of fresh water for washing, bathing, cooking, brushing teeth, and DRINKING. Heaven!) The truck and camper never bobbled. Trees fell all around making the ground shake. The wind blew about 99 mph and we had tornados all around. We were blessed to have taken so little damage when most everyone around us had more damage. My parent's home had a tree fall on it and caused a 16+ foot wide hole from the front to the back of the house. It took us 2 days to cut the tree off the roof and another day to patch it. The contracter said that $30,000 will probably be enough to repair the damage to the house.

The worst thing that has happened to us is that the storm cause our family to split up and move to other parts of the country. One daughter has moved to Massachusetts with her fiance and our other daughter evacuated to Dallas, Texas from Covington, Louisiana (about 20 East of New Orleans) Thank goodness for cel phones

I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience. Thanks, and keep thinking of all the people still struggling with the aftermath of Katrina.

--------------------

Bill and Debbie
2003 Chevy 2500HD Longbed Crewcab Duramax
2005 28 FRL-S Outback 5thWheel

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From kk5fe on 28Sep05
Katrina Campers, Living in camper after disaster

Hello!

Well, my family and I also fled the storm which I had also posted a couple of times. I live in Covington (45 miles north of New Orleans) and also had a very large pine tree come down on my house and put several holes in the roof with a branch sticking into the livingroom.

I am still living in my Outback since the storm though at this point because of my job. My family is back home since the power came back on last week and my kids are back in school. My job which was located in the CBD of New Orleans has taken up residence in Baton Rouge, so my camper is my home away from home here. So far between getting trees off the house and cleared from the property and getting the roof fixed I've rung a running total of about $25,000 and counting......

I'm going to post a few pictures in another thread so I dont hijack this one...

Glad you guys did ok!!

--------------------
Outback Sydney Edition model 30 RL-S

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From kk5fe on 28Sep05
Katrina Pictures.......

Hello all!

Over all, things in my familys life is getting back on track. We did better than a lot of people that have nothing not to mention lose of life.

I've posted on this subject a couple of times, so I'm not going to rehash that but here are links to what I've have postedost One Post Two

Here are a couple of pictures of my house with the trees down. The last picture here is of myself (front row second from left next to the Federal Marshall) taken downtown in New Orleans when we went back to my office to retrieve our servers from the building we work in. There was no electricity and the generators would not work, so no elevators. We are on the 40th floor and had to hand carry 10 computer servers plus other stuff down the stair wells.... We hired an off duty Swat team and two Federal Marshals to guard us because of reports of people shooting at anyone they can. Wasn't cheap, I can tell you. I thought the swat team was a bit overkill until we got there and was told by one of them that there were two bodies on the side of our building and at least one of them had been shot. Its not like that now however.... thank God!

Me standing in front of this monster..... 









Looking at the front of my house... yes its back there somewhere...









Another view of the tree on my roof









Group picture taken after five hours of carrying computer equipment down 40 flights of stairs...... Taken 9/6/05








Keith

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Outback Sydney Edition model 30 RL-S


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## kk5fe (Mar 6, 2005)

Just wanted to put this picture up that I took this morning. I thought of some of the replies that I got from some of you saying how people affected are bouncing back. Well, this is just showing how people are doing whatever it takes to get things done.

This is what our friend and neighbor did to keep her mail coming to her house which is damaged. Her mailbox got crushed, so she put this one up in its place by nailing it to the tree that took out her other box....


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

kk5fe,

Now that's the kind of spirit that makes this country great!
A little, in your face Katrina!








Bravo!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## rtavi (Jul 8, 2005)

Oct. 16,2005 The following is a copy of the post I made to another post but I wanted to add more. Please go the bottom of the post to read addition. 
Bill and I live in Hattiesburg, MS and drive 30 miles south on I-59 to work in Lumberton and then drive north back home each day after school. We can not keep count of the TTs heading down to the coast or N. O. every day. Some of the generic trailors are obviously made like a mobile home on a small scale. They don't look like they would last a summer much less 12-18 months. We have seen motor homes broken down and abandoned, trucks and trailors being towed but thankfully no wrecks. We pass Purvis which is a huge FEMA TT and mobile home depository. It seems to be getting larger and we wonder how many people are actually getting a "home" each day. I have one fourth grade student who is still living in a tent with DIRT floor. Its one of those old army style cook tents with no running water to wash in nor kitchen and bathroom facilities of any kind. The mother told me that she had been in contact with FEMA about the 2nd week after Katrina and was told that her family would be put on the PRIORITY LIST. Ha!! They are still waiting. BTW, they can't leave the property because they have livestock. I bet that if the animals were in as bad shape as the people, THEY would certainly have been taken care before now. Sorry, but I needed to vent. I have offered to haul a potential TT to their property. Maybe the mother will call me today with some good news. I believe that many people are fed up with the feds (pun intended ) and are going out and buying on their own. We drove to Covington, LA yesterday to help our daughter pack up and load her little bit of belongings and her horse to move to Texas where she was evacuated. We passed a used camper place which had 3 outbacks (one fiver and 2 TTs) They looked a little different from the outside than the ones we have seen in the past. 
***************
Additional comments:
On the drive to Covington, LA yesterday we passed many work crews still cleaning up the roads. The piles of trees are still as bad as places in Hattiesburg, but we are finally getting most everything cleaned up. We still don't have a phone and don't know when we'll get one. My mother-in-law got her phone just last week on Wednesday. The spirit of the people here is subdued but determined to get everything straight. Emotions are very near the surface for most people. Hattiesburg is probably typical for most towns near the coast with 15,000-20,000 more people than before the storm. The stores and malls are crowded beyond belief with people coming up from the coast to buy the supplies they need. There are still no large stores on the coast and the people have to get food and clothing somewhere. All the campgrounds are full with people living full time in campers some of whom have no idea how to take care of the TT. Oh well, they WILL find out! 'Til next time, Debbie (Bill is my better half)


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## firemedicinstr (Apr 6, 2005)

Hello all, I know I havent posted much in quite some time. I just returned from a mission trip to the Mississippi coast sponsored by our church. We traveled to a place called CORE BASECAMP (Christians Organized for Relief Efforts) http://www.corebasecamp.com/ 
Our mission was to assist families in the Ocean Springs MS area as well as D'Iberville MS

For those affected along the gulf coast our prayers and thoughts are with you. IF there is something you need there are churches and groups all accross this nation wanting to help. Please see the link for the church that sponsored us. http://www.newsongumc.org/ We are agressively looking to recruit another team to send before the holiday season.

Ladies and gentlemen of Outbackers.com I cannot even begin to describe the destruction, the desperation and needs our fellow americans have in this region. Hundereds of homes in Ocean Springs and a large portion of the homes in D'Iberville were scrubbed off the earth.
From Earl an employee at the McDonalds that was going to work each day from his bed in a shelter, to MR and MRS. Pleasants who's children loaded trucks in California and Tennessee with food and generators, to the man I met that recently retired and moved to the coast to start his new "retired" life; wound up homless in a little more than four hours, the stories and the people needing help never end.
My team was blessed to be assigned the case of a 88 year old WWII rescue pilot(credited with over 50 saves







) and his lovely wife. It took two full eight hour days for a group of fourteen of us (eight from our church and six young ladies from Maine and Illinois) to clean and sanitize our assigned house. It took a FEMA team an additonal three people half a day to load and haul all the debris away.








To restore ONE family to a SAFE, and SANITARY life required the resources of almost twenty people.
To restore the lives of the more than seventeen hundered mississippi FAMILIES will require the work of tens of thousands of us over the next year (yes even after it stops being sexy on TV to show the damage .....people will need help)

The money and cash that have poured in to help is great, and I will not ever try to deter anyone from donating money. BUT, IF you have the time and are willing to put in even a day or two helping these families IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT YOUR LIFE FOREVER.

Should you want to live in the comfort of your OUTBACK, I know they have been allowing a few trailers in the parking lot next to tent city but you would need to ask permission before you arrive.

Anyone that may take that leap to volunteer let me know.

Take Care,
FFBeanCounter (I'M Back)


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Anyone have any updates on how the recovery is going with forum members caught up in the hurricanes of last season?

Just wondering.


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Last I heard, which was 2 or 3 months ago, was either pakeboy2 (Ft Walton area) or richnkristy (Cantonment area) were still living in their OB while their house is being repaired. Not sure which one.

Leon


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## drobe5150 (Jan 21, 2005)

Crawfish said:


> Last I heard, which was 2 or 3 months ago, was either pakeboy2 (Ft Walton area) or richnkristy (Cantonment area) were still living in their OB while their house is being repaired. Not sure which one.
> 
> Leon
> [snapback]96500[/snapback]​


uoutcamping2 ( kris & kirk) are having a new home built, as of feb 5th they were still full timing in their outback, they also lost one of their beloved dogs to a heart attack. 
i hope they have been able to cut through all the red tape crap so they can start to rebuild their life & their home.

darrel


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## kk5fe (Mar 6, 2005)

Hello All,

Its been a while since I've been on the list and since today is the one year anniversary of Katrina, I just wanted to say hello.









A little of whatâ€™s been happening is that my house has been repaired (I didnâ€™t get flooded, but had lots of tree damage to the house) and have been doing cosmetic things to the yard. Its been a rough road, but I still came out better than most. The areas around New Orleans are still horrible, but some are making a come back. Its going to be a long time....... I've been putting in some long hours for the firm I work for getting a disaster recovery plan for our computer systems so we donâ€™t have to hire another swat team to recover our servers again!









We have only been in our camper once for fun since we had to live in it for a few months. Some of the state parks that have sewage hookups still have full time evacuee's, so its tough to go there to have fun while these folks are just trying to exist.

We have made some reservations at a park for Thanksgiving and are looking forward to that! The family and I are looking forward to just having fun!









Well, I'll sign off for now.... I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about Katrina stuff.... I know I am!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

While hearing of hardship from Katrina has been over whelming, it has been incredibly harder on the people who are living it.

It is nice to hear about the spirit of rebuilding no matter how small it is. Thanks for the update on yours.

Good luck and someday maybe normal life will return to the area.

John


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## uoutcampin2 (Mar 3, 2005)

Well everyone, our recovery is coming along very slow.







I wish I had more exciting news to tell but nothing yet. Yesterday has made a year since our lives changed drastically and we have only moved forward a few feet. The biggest challenge was money. Our mortgage company forced us to pay off the house with the insurance money and that left us with nothing left. We actually were underinsured so at that time after all insurance money was applied to the loan, we still were left with $11,000 to pay off. No other banks will do another mortgage because of the uncertainty of the area, so we were left to deal with SBA, (Small Business Administration). We applied for a loan in September of 2005, approved in January 2006, closed the loan in March 2006, but still no disbursements as of yet. We have been hearing 2 more weeks for the last 5 months. What little work has been done on the house was funded by our savings until SBA comes through. I tell ya, I donâ€™t even think X-Lax moves SBA! I work for the federal government now so I know things move slowly but if they move any slower, it will come to a standstill. Our mortgage payment before the storm was $475. It will now be $805. That doesnâ€™t even include insurance.

We have decided to hold off on building the new house for now. Since we are living in a FEMA TT, we wanted to find a way to get out of it and back in a house as fast as possible. Before Katrina, we were living in our investment property. We own a duplex and lived in one side while we rented the other side out. Our contractor told us that it would take him a minimum of 7 months to build the new house and realistically it would take a year. It is so hard to find the subcontractors and trades to do the work. He told us that if we were to fix the Chalmette duplex, we could be moved in within 4 months. All it needed was electrical, insulation, sheetrock, doors, cabinets and finish and trim. All of that could be done in 6 weeks, but again realistically, it will take 4 months to get it done. So that is what we decided to do. So once we get back into the duplex again, he is going to start building the new house. Our move in date for the duplex is October 24th.

Life is still pretty depressing here. Many times we just want to sit here and cry. But we both refuse to. Katrina came and left. We have cleaned up the mess and started to rebuild. We are tired of seeing debris and hearing everyone complaining about what can the government can do for me. I agree with a lot of people that the government can and should help, but if they donâ€™t than so be it. We bomb and destroy many countries and then pay to rebuild them. But then again, something happens on our own soil and the people are forgotten. Kirk and I are moving on and not expecting a handout from Uncle Sam. You wonâ€™t see us stomping and screaming on the steps of DC if a check isnâ€™t in our mailbox. Many say that it is our own fault for living on the coast. Well letâ€™s see if a cat 5 storm hits the east coast or especially New York City one day and see if they will rebuild it. New York was hit in 1871 and 1938 both times devastating the city. Meteorologists predict that New York has a higher chance to be hit by a named storm than us this year.

In closing, we have the faith that everything will be just fine. I tell you one thing; all this suffering makes us appreciate everything much more. Just with that, I could say we learned a valuable lesson from this. We all take things for granted in life because it becomes the norm. A house, car, king sized bed







and a normal sized refrigerator just to name a few. But when you loose it, and have to live over a year without it, you appreciate and respect it much more when you get it back.

Chris


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I sit here and am at a loss for words. A positive attitude under those circumstances can be difficult , so 'kudos' to you.

If I read it correctly, you are living in a fema TT and then go camping in the Outback. A change of location I hope helps a little. Good Luck for the future.

John


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Any of you who have suffered through that terrible loss have my full sympathy. Your plan to rebuild is awesome. You must have great strength. Here's praying the funds will be released so you can get back to 'normal'.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I have lived through a natural disaster.
I've been evacuated from my home for months.
I've lived in a tent trailer in the snow.
I've lived without electricity, running water, and facilities for months on end.
I've been screwed over by insurance companies.
I've been screwed by gouging contractors, utilities, & scam artist maggots.
I have dealt with FEMA.
I have taken SBA loans and gone through the system.
I've been told WHY DO I LIVE WHERE I LIVE.
I feel your pain. I've been through it. I have much compassion for you.

It's been 10 years now, and the bills from that disaster are paid. Finally.
We lost more money in one day than many people earn in a year.

If I can offer any advice in hindsight...
Forgive, forget, and move on. Your struggling will pay off in the end. Your mental healing will take time. Don't lose sight of your goals. You have now found out who your real friends are in life...and how close you are to your family. Surround yourself in them and cherish each day you have.

It's easy to forget this sometimes...
but you still live in the greatest country on Earth.
Hang in there.

Thanks for the update.


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## uoutcampin2 (Mar 3, 2005)

NDJollyMon said:


> If I read it correctly, you are living in a fema TT and then go camping in the Outback. A change of location I hope helps a little. Good Luck for the future.
> 
> John


John â€"

We are living in a FEMA TT. We were sent a 2006 30â€™ Gulfstream Cavalier. Here are a few photos of one like ours. Photo1 Photo2 Picture3 It is a very basic TT with no slides. I asked FEMA to just set me up with an electric pole and I we would live in the Outback. I told them that I would set everything up. That would have saved the government at least $40,000. Yes that much. I had talked with one of the delivery and set up guys and they are getting paid $14,000 per TT to set them up and they do 2-3 a day with a crew of 4 guys. That is to pick up a 30â€™ TT from the storage lot, bring it to my house, put it on cinderblocks, run a sewer line to my cleanout, and hook up a garden hose for water. Thatâ€™s it. $14,000 a piece. Anyhow, about using the Outback, they told me no that I had to get everything or nothing. So we told them to send us the trailer. It is parked on our driveway so we arenâ€™t in a â€œtrailer parkâ€. I have the Outback by my momâ€™s new house. My grandmother was staying in it until their house was finished. She was denied a FEMA trailer. When we read about the southeastern rally over at topsail, we jumped on it. We are so ready to hit the road once again. The only problem is that most campgrounds arround here are still fully booked with full timers.

Chris


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