About Us > Hurricane Katrina Impact

August 29th, 2005
That’s a date most people in Pascagoula will never forget. That’s the day Hurricane Katrina came ashore immersing our entire city in several feet of water. An estimated 90% of Pascagoula got wet and more than 25% of the homes were completely destroyed.

Most of the Rotarians here were among those who lost their homes. And each person who didn’t loose his home, quickly began providing shelter to storm victims. Most of the businesses in Pascagoula were destroyed and therefore closed while the owners tried to rebound. Because of this, many people in our great town were out of work for many months.

Pascagoula is bouncing back, though. With the help our thousands of volunteers from all over the world, a good portion of the homes in the area have been either completely rebuilt or are in some state of repair. The majority of our businesses have re-opened and some new entrepreneurs have emerged from the ruin to add to our local economy.

But you don’t need a magnifying glass to find the destruction still lingering from Katrina. A simple drive through the area reveals that while progress has been made, there’s still much work to be done. Many residents are still living in FEMA travel trailers, Some have exhausted all their savings on construction costs and still have no place to call home. Many folks are still battling insurance companies or anxiously awaiting governmental grants to start rebuilding. For some our citizens, Katrina seems like a never-ending nightmare.

The Pascagoula Rotary Club is sponsoring several community rebuilding programs. Please visit our projects page to learn more about those programs and what you can do to help.