NEWS: Nothing to See Here
I’m not all that comfortable taking pictures in disaster areas. I mean, the way I see it, if I’m doing it to document the scene, someone else is probably doing a better job, so what’s the point? If I’m doing it as a tourist, well, that’s just gross. Also, it’s hard to stand passively with a camera when there’s work to be done. Because of this, I only took about 20 pictures in total and promised myself I wouldn’t post any here.
Since returning home though, I kinda wish I’d taken more… the devastation is hard to imagine, but even harder to describe. A visual aid or two wouldn’t be the worst thing.
That said, here goes. Welcome to Biloxi, MS. Sorry to get all serious on you. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program ASAP.
These are the markings found on pretty much every building left standing. Get used to them. The letters to the left of the “x” refer to the team that did the search (New York-1). Above is the date it was searched (9/1). To the right are any hazards found inside, this could be anything: leaky gas, explosives, or “dead dogs” as was the case here. And below is the number of dead bodies found inside (0). An empty square above would mean that perhaps the building could be salvaged. This one however is crossed—it will have to be demolished by the owner.
Notice where the gate opens? See the front steps? That’s where this house stood before the tidal surge hit. There’s nothing unique about this situation though, houses along the Gulf Coast were pushed several lots over, or simply exploded, as far as the eye could see.
I’m pretty sure that green building was standing on those cinderblocks before the storm.
Imagine if this was your life…
That tent in the background is where this man is now living. He doesn’t want to leave and who can blame him? This is his property… it’s where his house stood not long ago. PS: This is not the country, this is a city street. The woman with the ice is standing on the sidewalk.
Many interiors of the buildings that remain are covered in mud. Only it isn't mud. It's the same human waste that backed up in the sewers, contaminating the water system. For that reason, and because of the debris, up to date Tetanus and Hep vaccinations are pretty much mandatory.
Again, this isn’t this gentleman’s home, but it’s pretty much the only structure left standing on his block, so it’s where he and his wife took refuge during the storm. The surge brought nearly 9 feet of floodwaters down this block and they were forced to crawl into the tiny unfinished attic (its more of a crawl-space really) as they watched the waters rise. Another foot or two and, with no means of cutting through the roof, they would’ve died.
Left without running, drinkable water, power or food, most of the people in East Biloxi spend their days sorting through the rubble, waiting for help (the government’s been slow in acting round these parts) while doing their best to help themselves.
Want to learn more? I highly recommend checking out my friend Seige’s web-site. His family pretty much lost everything, he… er... he explains it best. CLICK HERE.
Anyway, going was hard, but after 10 days leaving was even harder. I decided step one to feeling normal again was making out with someone as soon as possible…. Which, pretty much leads us to the epilogue.
My flight from Biloxi to Atlanta was pretty uneventful. Atlanta to NYC? Not so much. I was in a window seat with an empty seat next to me. She was in the window directly across with an empty seat next to her. See where I’m going with this? There’s no time like the present: Me and “plane girl” were sitting next to each other before we even pushed off from the gate and began making out just about the time we reached our cruising altitude.
In fact, the whole thing made me so giddy I was convinced I could get the rest of plane to start making out with one another. It didn’t go down like that, but hey, I’m pretty sure I had the women in the row behind entertained.
Since returning home though, I kinda wish I’d taken more… the devastation is hard to imagine, but even harder to describe. A visual aid or two wouldn’t be the worst thing.
That said, here goes. Welcome to Biloxi, MS. Sorry to get all serious on you. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program ASAP.
These are the markings found on pretty much every building left standing. Get used to them. The letters to the left of the “x” refer to the team that did the search (New York-1). Above is the date it was searched (9/1). To the right are any hazards found inside, this could be anything: leaky gas, explosives, or “dead dogs” as was the case here. And below is the number of dead bodies found inside (0). An empty square above would mean that perhaps the building could be salvaged. This one however is crossed—it will have to be demolished by the owner.
Notice where the gate opens? See the front steps? That’s where this house stood before the tidal surge hit. There’s nothing unique about this situation though, houses along the Gulf Coast were pushed several lots over, or simply exploded, as far as the eye could see.
I’m pretty sure that green building was standing on those cinderblocks before the storm.
Imagine if this was your life…
That tent in the background is where this man is now living. He doesn’t want to leave and who can blame him? This is his property… it’s where his house stood not long ago. PS: This is not the country, this is a city street. The woman with the ice is standing on the sidewalk.
Many interiors of the buildings that remain are covered in mud. Only it isn't mud. It's the same human waste that backed up in the sewers, contaminating the water system. For that reason, and because of the debris, up to date Tetanus and Hep vaccinations are pretty much mandatory.
Again, this isn’t this gentleman’s home, but it’s pretty much the only structure left standing on his block, so it’s where he and his wife took refuge during the storm. The surge brought nearly 9 feet of floodwaters down this block and they were forced to crawl into the tiny unfinished attic (its more of a crawl-space really) as they watched the waters rise. Another foot or two and, with no means of cutting through the roof, they would’ve died.
Left without running, drinkable water, power or food, most of the people in East Biloxi spend their days sorting through the rubble, waiting for help (the government’s been slow in acting round these parts) while doing their best to help themselves.
Want to learn more? I highly recommend checking out my friend Seige’s web-site. His family pretty much lost everything, he… er... he explains it best. CLICK HERE.
Want to lend a hand? I highly recommend checking in with Hands on USA. CLICK HERE.
Last but not least, me and some friends are organizing a super-low-rent benefit here in New York for later in the month. I’ll keep you posted.
Anyway, going was hard, but after 10 days leaving was even harder. I decided step one to feeling normal again was making out with someone as soon as possible…. Which, pretty much leads us to the epilogue.
My flight from Biloxi to Atlanta was pretty uneventful. Atlanta to NYC? Not so much. I was in a window seat with an empty seat next to me. She was in the window directly across with an empty seat next to her. See where I’m going with this? There’s no time like the present: Me and “plane girl” were sitting next to each other before we even pushed off from the gate and began making out just about the time we reached our cruising altitude.
In fact, the whole thing made me so giddy I was convinced I could get the rest of plane to start making out with one another. It didn’t go down like that, but hey, I’m pretty sure I had the women in the row behind entertained.
posted by Jakehimself at 6:39 AM
1 Comments:
Want to get in touch? As always, I can be reached at jakehimself at hotmail dot com.
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