Tales of Survival Broadcast from the Gulf Region

Photo: courtesy of Getty Images News

There’s no telling how long it will be before survivors of Hurricane Katrina can safely return to their homes - or how many will have homes to return to.

Suzanne Rodgers of Biloxi, Mississippi, lived in a two-story brick apartment building near the beach. When she tried to return to it on Monday, she found that the raging Gulf of Mexico had obliterated the structure. “There’s nothing there anymore,” Rodgers told CNN. “It’s all rubble.”

“All I found that belonged to me,” she continued, “was a shoe … [and] a chair that I put inside of my apartment.”

Along the Gulf Coast, Rodgers is among countless refugees from the one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history.

Mercy Corps has a long history delivering humanitarian aid to refugees, addressing their basic needs for water, food and shelter and supporting their efforts to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. We need your financial assistance to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina cope with the displacement and destruction they now face.

To Mercy Corps, the tales of harrowing survival and heartbreaking loss emanating from the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are not unfamiliar. Neither are the courage and resiliency demonstrated by survivors and rescue workers.

Boating to the rescue
Mike Parks, who captains sport-fishing boats and offshore supply vessels, used his skiff to rescue people stranded in his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, the New Orleans Times Picayune reported. Navigating around interstates, car antennas and floating debris, Parks rescued Ann Nash and her in-laws- Jim Nash, 77, and his wife, Odette, 65. "We just scrambled to the attic and prayed, and we've been up there ever since," Odette told the paper.

Hanging on
Alex and Edna Burkley were rescued from their New Orleans home, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. They were among those waiting at a makeshift triage center. “We've got no food, no water,” said Alex Burkley, 73. “We have to take our medicine and we can't even find water to take a sip.”

Running out of funds
The New York Times told the story of 34 year-old America Williams, who left New Orleans in a sport-utility vehicle on Sunday with her boyfriend and 13 of his relatives. After two nights in a Birmingham, Alabama motel, the family ran out of money and now resides in a Red Cross shelter in nearby Saraland. "We're down to our very last," Williams told the Times. "We came here for some type of assistance, some type of help."

An uncertain return
Sandra and Robert Allums, from Metairie, Louisiana, also came to Saraland, the Times reported. "The biggest fear is the unknown," Mr. Allums told the Times. "We don't know how long before we can get back into our home and our work."

As it has in past emergencies, both domestic and international, Mercy Corps will be there to help. Presently, the agency is supporting an emergency response by Episcopal Relief and Development, and is dispatching a veteran humanitarian aid worker to the region to plan a long-term recovery response.

Your donation will help support relief and recovery efforts in the battered region.