Student provides refuge for family left homeless by Hurricane Katrina
Kasey Doyle/Editor
Issue date: 9/1/05 Section: News
|
While Kentuckians experienced the aftermath of the storm, Hurricane Katrina hit a little closer to home for senior agriculture major Laura Rogers.
Rogers, who grew up in Gulfport, Miss., said she was relieved to hear from her mother and brother Tuesday morning.
Her brother lives in New Orleans and her mother lives in Gulfport, Miss.
Both cities suffered devastation from the hurricane's force.
"It is scary and it is worrisome," Rogers said. "All I can do is have faith in the Lord to take care of them."
Rogers said she has had a difficult time reaching many of her family members
"I still have a lot of family down there, and I can't reach any of them," she said.
Residents in the Gulf States have experienced power outages as well as severe flooding.
The storm also destroyed phone lines and cellular towers.
"I can't call their cell phones. I thought you would always have a cell phone," she said.
Rogers' family members evacuated from their homes Sunday morning, and made their way to Jackson, Miss., Rogers said.
"The traffic was awful," she said. Her relatives found no place to stay in Jackson, so they traveled north to Little Rock, Ark.
Rogers is opening her home to her family members until they can return to their homes.
"I have a home, they don't have a home. I have a place to lay my head, but they don't. Their homes are going to be awful when they get back," she said. "If you think about it, they are losing a whole lifetime of work."
Rogers grew up in Gulfport, and she said she remembers hurricanes hitting the area where she lived when she was younger.
Rogers said she could remember seeing entire houses destroyed by the strong winds and pounding rain.
"We just rode them out," she said. "It is a scary experience."
Rogers said she and her husband are trying to help her family face the destruction. She plans to donate bottled water and a generator to help the family.
The Richmond Daniel Boone Chapter of the American Red Cross is collecting canned food, clothing, blankets and other personal items to be delivered to the disaster areas.