Hurricane Katrina

000 Aerial photo of the Stokes' place when Tom left. Trees cleaned up and debris piles by the road.

2009-02-21T20:04:32Z

Stokes-R-Us
000 Aerial photo of the Stokes' place when Tom left. Trees cleaned up and debris piles by the road.

005 Aerial photo of the Stokes' place when Tom arrived. You can see all the trees bent over from the wind on the left side of the picture.

2009-06-04T23:56:13Z

Stokes-R-Us
005 Aerial photo of the Stokes' place when Tom arrived. You can see all the trees bent over from the wind on the left side of the picture.

020 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The metal roof was blown off the house and across the field.

2009-06-05T23:30:21Z

Stokes-R-Us
020 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The metal roof was blown off the house and across the field.

025 The front of the house.

2009-06-04T23:08:17Z

Stokes-R-Us
025 The front of the house.

030 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The metal roof was blown off the back half of the house.

2009-06-04T23:42:30Z

Stokes-R-Us
030 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The metal roof was blown off the back half of the house.

035 About half of the trees were blown down.

2009-06-05T00:13:01Z

Stokes-R-Us
035 About half of the trees were blown down.

040 The metal roof was blown off the back half of the house. This is the driveway into their house.

2009-06-04T23:48:10Z

Stokes-R-Us
040 The metal roof was blown off the back half of the house. This is the driveway into their house.

045 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The back of the house. You can see the decking is left.

2009-06-05T23:47:09Z

Stokes-R-Us
045 Pictures Tom's mom took the day after the storm. The back of the house. You can see the decking is left.

050 The day after the storm, neighbors came to put the first of three temporary plastic covers on the roof.

2009-06-05T00:39:24Z

Stokes-R-Us
050 The day after the storm, neighbors came to put the first of three temporary plastic covers on the roof.

055 Damage in the yard was equally bad. Lots of pecan trees lost.

2009-06-05T00:49:07Z

Stokes-R-Us
055 Damage in the yard was equally bad. Lots of pecan trees lost.

060 Damage in the yard.

2009-06-05T00:38:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
060 Damage in the yard.

065 Cleaning up the damage.

2009-06-05T00:04:34Z

Stokes-R-Us
065 Cleaning up the damage.

070 Cleaning up the damage. The county came and pulled up the stumps.

2009-06-04T23:15:58Z

Stokes-R-Us
070 Cleaning up the damage. The county came and pulled up the stumps.

075 Enough water leaked through the utility room that the ceiling collapsed.

2009-06-05T23:26:38Z

Stokes-R-Us
075 Enough water leaked through the utility room that the ceiling collapsed.

085 With the roof blown off, water leaked through the decking and destroyed the ceilings. This is the carport.

2009-06-05T00:53:06Z

Stokes-R-Us
085 With the roof blown off, water leaked through the decking and destroyed the ceilings. This is the carport.

090 With the roof blown off, water leaked through the decking and destroyed the ceilings. This is inside the house.

2009-06-05T23:23:20Z

Stokes-R-Us
090 With the roof blown off, water leaked through the decking and destroyed the ceilings. This is inside the house.

095 The water ruined the wood flooring in the den.

2009-06-04T23:05:28Z

Stokes-R-Us
095 The water ruined the wood flooring in the den.

100 In the utility room, the laminate pulled away on the counter.

2009-06-05T00:34:01Z

Stokes-R-Us
100 In the utility room, the laminate pulled away on the counter.

105 Demolition started with a couple of days. There was a hurry to get old insulation out to prevent mold. The insulation is this picture is more than just dripping water.

2009-06-05T23:34:20Z

Stokes-R-Us
105 Demolition started with a couple of days. There was a hurry to get old insulation out to prevent mold. The insulation is this picture is more than just dripping water.

110 While the house was drying out, they cleaned up the yard. Cut down the trees and dragged them to the road.

2009-06-05T00:19:25Z

Stokes-R-Us
110 While the house was drying out, they cleaned up the yard. Cut down the trees and dragged them to the road.

115 They stripped the ceiling down to the rafters in the utility room.

2009-06-05T23:48:00Z

Stokes-R-Us
115 They stripped the ceiling down to the rafters in the utility room.

120 They stripped the ceiling down to the rafters in the den, and let the room dry out (as much as it can in 90% humidity).

2009-06-04T23:58:15Z

Stokes-R-Us
120 They stripped the ceiling down to the rafters in the den, and let the room dry out (as much as it can in 90% humidity).

125 Pile of wood flooring from the den.

2009-06-05T23:31:28Z

Stokes-R-Us
125 Pile of wood flooring from the den.

130 Insulation ready to go to the debris pile.

2009-06-04T22:43:17Z

Stokes-R-Us
130 Insulation ready to go to the debris pile.

135 Pulling the insulation down. Sunlight shining through roof.

2009-06-04T22:48:44Z

Stokes-R-Us
135 Pulling the insulation down. Sunlight shining through roof.

150 With room more or less dried out, they took a chance and installed the insulation. There is still plastic on the roof, but not forecast of rain.

2009-06-05T23:33:13Z

Stokes-R-Us
150 With room more or less dried out, they took a chance and installed the insulation. There is still plastic on the roof, but not forecast of rain.

155 Insulation installed in the utility room.

2009-06-05T23:41:12Z

Stokes-R-Us
155 Insulation installed in the utility room.

160 Construction materials

2009-06-05T23:34:07Z

Stokes-R-Us
160 Construction materials

165 Installing the floors. Again, they took a risk. The roof is blacked in, but new roof not installed. Still, no forecast of rain.

2009-06-05T00:03:24Z

Stokes-R-Us
165 Installing the floors. Again, they took a risk. The roof is blacked in, but new roof not installed. Still, no forecast of rain.

170 New floor in the den. The ceiling tiles are being installed.

2009-06-04T23:52:26Z

Stokes-R-Us
170 New floor in the den. The ceiling tiles are being installed.

175 The yard is cleaned up now. The water pump used to have a shed over it. That still needs to be replaced.

2009-06-05T00:33:08Z

Stokes-R-Us
175 The yard is cleaned up now. The water pump used to have a shed over it. That still needs to be replaced.

180 More construction materials.

2009-06-04T23:05:08Z

Stokes-R-Us
180 More construction materials.

185 Aerial from Tom's plane. The slats are being installed on the back half of the house in preparation for metal roofing.

2009-06-05T23:22:07Z

Stokes-R-Us
185 Aerial from Tom's plane. The slats are being installed on the back half of the house in preparation for metal roofing.

190 Aerial. The metal roof being installed on the back of the house.

2009-06-04T23:33:47Z

Stokes-R-Us
190 Aerial. The metal roof being installed on the back of the house.

195 Aerial. The slats and roofing of the front part of the house.

2009-06-04T23:34:47Z

Stokes-R-Us
195 Aerial. The slats and roofing of the front part of the house.

200 Clayton Howell and Tom working on the baseboards.

2009-06-04T22:56:16Z

Stokes-R-Us
200 Clayton Howell and Tom working on the baseboards.

205 Clayton worked on Saturday - normally his day off - to get the baseboards installed.

2009-06-04T23:51:08Z

Stokes-R-Us
205 Clayton worked on Saturday - normally his day off - to get the baseboards installed.

210 Painting the kitchen ceiling.

2009-06-04T23:47:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
210 Painting the kitchen ceiling.

215 Aerial. FEMA truck carrying storm debris. We were supposed to separate construction debris from organic (trees).

2009-06-05T23:28:34Z

Stokes-R-Us
215 Aerial. FEMA truck carrying storm debris. We were supposed to separate construction debris from organic (trees).

220 Loading debris into the FEMA truck. These guys were paid by the yard of material. They had signs on their trucks that indicated how many yards each one carried.

2009-02-21T20:05:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
220 Loading debris into the FEMA truck. These guys were paid by the yard of material. They had signs on their trucks that indicated how many yards each one carried.

225 Aerial. One of the debris piles pretty much cleaned up.

2009-06-04T22:43:50Z

Stokes-R-Us
225 Aerial. One of the debris piles pretty much cleaned up.

230 Aerial. After four weeks of work, their place was pretty much back to normal.

2009-06-04T23:58:54Z

Stokes-R-Us
230 Aerial. After four weeks of work, their place was pretty much back to normal.

235 Aerial. Finished from a different angle.

2009-06-04T22:50:35Z

Stokes-R-Us
235 Aerial. Finished from a different angle.

240 Now for the "nice" part. There was a bumper crop of love bugs through the whole activity.

2009-06-05T23:24:23Z

Stokes-R-Us
240 Now for the "nice" part. There was a bumper crop of love bugs through the whole activity.

245 They were thick, and attracted to new things. Like new paint on the trim board.

2009-06-05T23:47:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
245 They were thick, and attracted to new things. Like new paint on the trim board.

250 They also gathered on anything that was white.

2009-06-05T23:26:38Z

Stokes-R-Us
250 They also gathered on anything that was white.

255 This is the shed out back. Only a few roofing tiles blew off.

2009-06-05T23:37:17Z

Stokes-R-Us
255 This is the shed out back. Only a few roofing tiles blew off.

260 There was enough wind to lift the roof of the car port and cause this shim to spin out.

2009-06-04T23:48:12Z

Stokes-R-Us
260 There was enough wind to lift the roof of the car port and cause this shim to spin out.

265 This is Lucedale, Tom's home town. You can see some of the damaged buildings along the street.

2009-06-05T23:28:32Z

Stokes-R-Us
265 This is Lucedale, Tom's home town. You can see some of the damaged buildings along the street.

270 Another shot of Lucedale where you can see debris piles on the side of the streets and blue tarps on the roofs.

2009-06-05T00:00:10Z

Stokes-R-Us
270 Another shot of Lucedale where you can see debris piles on the side of the streets and blue tarps on the roofs.

275 This is the John Deere store.

2009-02-21T20:06:56Z

Stokes-R-Us
275 This is the John Deere store.

280 They started cleaning up the town quickly. You can see both debris piles and blue roofs

2009-06-04T22:41:06Z

Stokes-R-Us
280 They started cleaning up the town quickly. You can see both debris piles and blue roofs

285 More clean-up in the town. Convict labor is used a lot down there.

2009-06-05T23:28:16Z

Stokes-R-Us
285 More clean-up in the town. Convict labor is used a lot down there.

290 There were lots of blue roofs around. FEMA was installing them for free.

2009-06-05T01:09:16Z

Stokes-R-Us
290 There were lots of blue roofs around. FEMA was installing them for free.

295 This is Lucedale Glass. The wind blew in thru a large shop door in the back and just blew the building apart from the inside. It wasn't reinforced in any way.

2009-06-04T23:34:32Z

Stokes-R-Us
295 This is Lucedale Glass. The wind blew in thru a large shop door in the back and just blew the building apart from the inside. It wasn't reinforced in any way.

300 Tom took the picture of Lucedale Glass to the local paper and they asked him if he would take a picture of the school. The roof had been blown off the new wing of the building.

2009-06-05T00:11:29Z

Stokes-R-Us
300 Tom took the picture of Lucedale Glass to the local paper and they asked him if he would take a picture of the school. The roof had been blown off the new wing of the building.

305 They published his picture, and folks noticed that he didn't get a credit for the photo. But George County Times had something better in mind.

2009-06-05T00:25:27Z

Stokes-R-Us
305 They published his picture, and folks noticed that he didn't get a credit for the photo. But George County Times had something better in mind.

310 They wrote up a whole article on Tom and published another one of his pictures. This is an aerial photo he took of Pascagoula.

2009-06-04T23:12:13Z

Stokes-R-Us
310 They wrote up a whole article on Tom and published another one of his pictures. This is an aerial photo he took of Pascagoula.

315 The best part is that Tom and Elvis are on the same page.

2009-06-05T00:06:34Z

Stokes-R-Us
315 The best part is that Tom and Elvis are on the same page.

320 This is the old Bexley school. It is being renovated, and got caught in the storm without its roof.

2009-06-05T23:27:17Z

Stokes-R-Us
320 This is the old Bexley school. It is being renovated, and got caught in the storm without its roof.

325 The newspaper asked Tom to take a picture of this food stamp line. They didn't publish it. The Government announced that everyone was eligible for $300 in food stamps. This was an all- ...

2009-06-05T00:36:41Z

Stokes-R-Us
325 The newspaper asked Tom to take a picture of this food stamp line. They didn't publish it. The Government announced that everyone was eligible for $300 in food stamps. This was an all- ...

330 One of the many stands of pine trees destroyed by the hurricane. You can see the wind just snapped them at the base.

2009-06-05T23:48:34Z

Stokes-R-Us
330 One of the many stands of pine trees destroyed by the hurricane. You can see the wind just snapped them at the base.

335 Tom evacuated his parents to Arkansas where the Stokes siblings live. This is Prescott, where Uncle Milt and Aunt Ruth live. Uncle Milt passed away shortly after his parents returned h ...

2009-02-21T20:05:21Z

Stokes-R-Us
335 Tom evacuated his parents to Arkansas where the Stokes siblings live. This is Prescott, where Uncle Milt and Aunt Ruth live. Uncle Milt passed away shortly after his parents returned h ...

340 This is just about the entire town of Rosston, Arkansas where Aunt Sook (Mr. Stokes' sister) lives. Just about every house in the picture belongs to a cousin. Tom's parents stayed with ...

2009-06-05T00:05:41Z

Stokes-R-Us
340 This is just about the entire town of Rosston, Arkansas where Aunt Sook (Mr. Stokes' sister) lives. Just about every house in the picture belongs to a cousin. Tom's parents stayed with ...

345 Gas was the overwhelming problem. The lines were very long. Tom waited an entire day in gas lines. People's tempers were short and the local government eventually put an armed officer a ...

2009-06-04T23:06:52Z

Stokes-R-Us
345 Gas was the overwhelming problem. The lines were very long. Tom waited an entire day in gas lines. People's tempers were short and the local government eventually put an armed officer a ...

350 Nervous about the gas situation, Tom arranged for his friends Dean and Dale from North Caroline to bring in 150 gallons of gas. They camoflaged the utility trailor because there were re ...

2009-06-05T23:37:52Z

Stokes-R-Us
350 Nervous about the gas situation, Tom arranged for his friends Dean and Dale from North Caroline to bring in 150 gallons of gas. They camoflaged the utility trailor because there were re ...

355 Because of the gas situation, everyone carried fuel with them.

2009-06-05T00:56:41Z

Stokes-R-Us
355 Because of the gas situation, everyone carried fuel with them.

360 Most people seemed to carry 15-20 gallons of gas, but it depended on how far you were going.

2009-06-05T23:36:55Z

Stokes-R-Us
360 Most people seemed to carry 15-20 gallons of gas, but it depended on how far you were going.

365 Gas cans.

2009-06-05T23:30:37Z

Stokes-R-Us
365 Gas cans.

370 The hurricane blew over many of the highway signs.

2009-06-05T00:03:52Z

Stokes-R-Us
370 The hurricane blew over many of the highway signs.

375 The National Guard were very visible.

2009-06-04T22:40:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
375 The National Guard were very visible.

380 We passed many, many convoys bringing assistance to the area.

2009-06-04T23:27:23Z

Stokes-R-Us
380 We passed many, many convoys bringing assistance to the area.

385 Aerial. This is the corner of Market and Beach Street in Pascagoula, Mississippi. That's the Gulf of Mexico so you can see they were pretty vulnerable to the storm surge.

2009-06-05T00:35:35Z

Stokes-R-Us
385 Aerial. This is the corner of Market and Beach Street in Pascagoula, Mississippi. That's the Gulf of Mexico so you can see they were pretty vulnerable to the storm surge.

390 Aerial. From the air, it can be deceiving. The shingles were blown off of this house.

2009-06-04T22:54:22Z

Stokes-R-Us
390 Aerial. From the air, it can be deceiving. The shingles were blown off of this house.

395 At ground level, this house is totally destroyed. The water was up to the balcony and stripped everything out from the first floor.

2009-06-05T23:33:01Z

Stokes-R-Us
395 At ground level, this house is totally destroyed. The water was up to the balcony and stripped everything out from the first floor.

400 The house is still standing because they have it braced up. It will eventually be torn down.

2009-06-04T22:46:13Z

Stokes-R-Us
400 The house is still standing because they have it braced up. It will eventually be torn down.

405 Close up, you can really see where the receding water eroded the soil away from foundations and trees.

2009-06-05T23:36:22Z

Stokes-R-Us
405 Close up, you can really see where the receding water eroded the soil away from foundations and trees.

410 The trees are all dying from the exposure to salt water.

2009-06-04T23:55:54Z

Stokes-R-Us
410 The trees are all dying from the exposure to salt water.

415 From the air, you can see where the roofs are all that's left. Entire houses were lifted off their foundations and floated 50 feet away.

2009-06-04T23:51:08Z

Stokes-R-Us
415 From the air, you can see where the roofs are all that's left. Entire houses were lifted off their foundations and floated 50 feet away.

420 In Pascagoula, the damage south of the train tracks is severe. It's a total loss - nothing left - even the trees are lost.

2009-06-05T23:31:34Z

Stokes-R-Us
420 In Pascagoula, the damage south of the train tracks is severe. It's a total loss - nothing left - even the trees are lost.

425 Another view of the damage in Pascagoula. While some of these houses look okay - from the roof top - on the ground, the storm surge ripped through the houses.

2009-06-04T23:41:52Z

Stokes-R-Us
425 Another view of the damage in Pascagoula. While some of these houses look okay - from the roof top - on the ground, the storm surge ripped through the houses.

430 This is another shot that the George County Times used. The upper left whitish area apparently used to be condos.

2009-06-04T23:01:26Z

Stokes-R-Us
430 This is another shot that the George County Times used. The upper left whitish area apparently used to be condos.

435 The bottom floor of this home was washed away. What's left doesn't look stable enough for reconstruction, so the whole house will probably have to be demolished.

2009-06-05T00:46:57Z

Stokes-R-Us
435 The bottom floor of this home was washed away. What's left doesn't look stable enough for reconstruction, so the whole house will probably have to be demolished.

440 The bottom floor of this home was washed away.

2009-06-05T23:36:20Z

Stokes-R-Us
440 The bottom floor of this home was washed away.

445 The bottom floor of this home was washed away. You can also see damage from the receding storm surge.

2009-06-05T23:45:53Z

Stokes-R-Us
445 The bottom floor of this home was washed away. You can also see damage from the receding storm surge.

450 Most of what survived was saltwater-logged. It's really a total loss.

2009-06-04T22:52:30Z

Stokes-R-Us
450 Most of what survived was saltwater-logged. It's really a total loss.

460 The pine trees that weren't snapped in half had their needles blown off. Pine trees - unlike deciduous trees - can't survive without their needles. The highways are lined with miles of ...

2009-06-04T22:50:19Z

Stokes-R-Us
460 The pine trees that weren't snapped in half had their needles blown off. Pine trees - unlike deciduous trees - can't survive without their needles. The highways are lined with miles of ...

465 Pascagoula, five weeks after the storm.

2009-06-05T23:59:50Z

Stokes-R-Us
465 Pascagoula, five weeks after the storm.

470 Five weeks after Katrina, Tom and Debbie went back to Pascagoula. Whereas life was almost normal in Lucedale, there really wasn't a lot of progress here. A sign of just how devestated ...

2009-02-21T20:04:32Z

Stokes-R-Us
470 Five weeks after Katrina, Tom and Debbie went back to Pascagoula. Whereas life was almost normal in Lucedale, there really wasn't a lot of progress here. A sign of just how devestated ...

475 Pascagoula, five weeks after the storm.

2009-06-04T23:39:41Z

Stokes-R-Us
475 Pascagoula, five weeks after the storm.

490 And then there was Rita. Tom and Debbie drove through Rita on the way to bring his folks back home.

2009-06-04T23:09:26Z

Stokes-R-Us
490 And then there was Rita. Tom and Debbie drove through Rita on the way to bring his folks back home.

495 On the way back to Arizona, we decided to take I-10. These are boats washed up on the shore from Rita.

2009-06-05T23:37:09Z

Stokes-R-Us
495 On the way back to Arizona, we decided to take I-10. These are boats washed up on the shore from Rita.

500 Rital blew all the billboards over. We passed several that had been snapped in half.

2009-06-04T23:47:37Z

Stokes-R-Us
500 Rital blew all the billboards over. We passed several that had been snapped in half.

510 The local police and National Guard were blocking all the exits in Lake Charles and Beaumont.

2009-06-05T23:33:37Z

Stokes-R-Us
510 The local police and National Guard were blocking all the exits in Lake Charles and Beaumont.