Columbus firefighters reflect on deployment during Hurricane Katrina
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Friday marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
First responders from across the state were sent to help with search and rescue because of the overwhelming amount of damage.
“You can train, you can train, you can train, but nothing would have prepared anyone for the things that we experienced during Hurricane Katrina,” said Columbus Fire Chief Duane Hughes.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005, Columbus Fire Chief Duane Hughes had only been working for 10 years in fire service.
He was among the first group of CFR firefighters deployed to the Coast for extra help.
“It was just tremendous effort just to get down to the Coast. A lot of the highways were closed. There were still lot of a massive amount of flooding, and this was probably two days after the storm had actually hit,” said Hughes.
While Hughes and other firefighters were on their way to Waveland, Mississippi, evacuees were headed to Columbus and other cities further north for safety.
Several fled homes that flooded or washed away.
“One of the main things that came out of Katrina was the realization that although federal assistance is coming, it’s going to be a week, two weeks out in some cases. And local governments need to be prepared to stand up the emergency responders, have a response plan in place,” said Hughes.
Chief Hughes said a lot of faith-based organizations stepped in to fill the gap.
The firefighters left behind had to manage the impact of the storm that was also brewing in Columbus.
“We learned a lot about the pressing needs of those that were affected by the storm. It never crossed our minds that simple things such as a toothbrush, or toothpaste would become extremely hard to find,” said Hughes.
Battalion Chief Chip Kain was on duty at the fire station when Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
He was sent in the second group of CFR firefighters to the Coast.
“Everything had been completely turned over from the bottom of the Bay of St. Louis. (Everything) was all basically washed into the neighborhoods. You were trudging through sludge and mud everywhere you went,” said Kain.
Part of his role was to perform search and rescue.
He said he still remembers the smell of decay.
“Water is what’s going to kill most people in a hurricane. You do have the devastation of a building starting to be blown apart by 150 to 200 mile an hour winds. But it’s the sheer pressure of that water as it’s constantly beating and pushing carrying stuff. I mean things you wouldn’t think would be carried off are gone,” said Kain.
Chief Hughes said one of the key lessons learned was the importance of communication between local, federal, and state agencies.
Another was having the proper amount of resources for evacuees.
He said around 200 stayed in an old school building in Columbus during the storm.
Hughes also said organizations from across the country came to help with the aftermath of the hurricane.
