Until Monday, Pass Christian, Mississippi was paradise. Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, it was dotted with summer homes, a place people from nearby cities came to relax. Today, there is nothing left. The small coastal town was completely wiped out by Hurricane Katrina.
Pass Christian took the full force of Hurricane Katrina. Today this town of 6,000 is nearly all gone. Andrew Grant survived the storm. "Everything is gone. Everything."
Hurricane Katrina slammed into Pass Christian, an 8-meter tidal surge leveling all 2500 homes in this once quaint community, killing many of Mr. Grant's neighbors.
"Bodies are still being pulled out of trees, out of houses," Mr. Grant said.
Statewide, scores are dead. And Rob Florie, a lifelong resident of Pass Christian, believes the death toll will rise dramatically. It has been difficult. "You drag somebody out of the rubble you grew up with. It's pretty tough."
Along with the carnage, there are survival stories.
"And I thought, ‘Oh my God, we're not going to make it’.” said Fredna Bennett, a survivor.
Living more than kilometer inland, Fredna decided to ride out the storm. She says never again. “It was devastating. I just can't imagine doing it again. Never. I'm so sorry."
Even in this time of desperation, Fredna is helping other survivors and vowing she and her neighbors will rebuild their devastated community.
