Aug 27, 2015

Covering Katrina: Sun photographers remember hurricane’s devastation

Robert Hamilton 0 Comment Nation, The Baltimore Sun 10th Anniversary, Biloxi, Houston, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans, Superdome, Texas

60 Photos

Ten years ago on Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm, slammed into the Gulf Coast states causing massive destruction from Florida to Texas, with New Orleans taking the brunt of the blow. The Baltimore Sun photo staff was there from the beginning to document the devastation with photographers in New Orleans, Mississippi and Texas. Ten years later we take a look back at the images they captured and the impact this deadly storm had on the region.

Video: Photographer Karl Merton Ferron remembers his time in New Orleans covering Katrina for The Sun.

Photos taken by Sun photographers in Katrina’s aftermath.

: August 28, 2005 – Roy Marigny, of New Orleans, waits with thousands of others to get into the Superdome, which was used at a shelter against the approaching Hurricane Katrina. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 28, 2005 – As the rain begins to fall in the French Quarter, two men walk through the mostly empty streets of New Orleans enjoying the moment as Hurricane Katrina approached the city. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 28, 2005 – Myra Smith, from the town of Marrero, LA, breaks down as she talks about her home which is prone to flooding. She was waiting to get into the Superdome, which was used as a shelter against the approaching Hurricane Katrina. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 28, 2005 – Thousands of Louisiana residents and some tourists line up to enter the Superdome, in New Orleans, which will be used at a shelter against the approaching Hurricane Katrina. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 29, 2005 – New Orleans Police officers watch Hurricane Katrina blow through New Orleans from the safety of The J.W. Marriott hotel. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 29, 2005 – Vehicles drive north on Canal street using the streetcar lane to get past toppled palm trees as Hurricane Katrina made its way through New Orleans. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 29, 2005 – A New Orleans police vehicle drives past a destroyed Land Rover SUV, which was damaged by bricks from a partially collapsed storefront on Camp Street in downtown as Hurricane Katrina made its way through New Orleans. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 29, 2005 – Figuring that his family might need to travel another 120 miles, Carl Ford of New Orleans, LA checks his vehicle at a travel plaza in Iowa, LA, while family members wait inside. They had been driving since around 9:30 Sunday morning after escaping from New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: August 30, 2005 – On break from his job, clinical technician Brian Johnson walks up Three Rivers Rd, below downed trees and power lines to check the damage to the area in Covington one day after residents try to move on in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: August 30, 2005 – Cookie Brown decided to abandon her car as waters had flooded it after she had thought that the spot would spare the car from being flooded in Slidell one day after residents tried to move on in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: August 30, 2005 – New Orleans police chased looters from a clothing store with armloads of items after the floodwaters that began rising after Hurrican Katrina came through town. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 30, 2005 – Floodwaters begin rising early Tuesday morning along Canal Street after Hurricane Katrina came through town on Monday. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – After Hurricane Katrina made it’s way through New Orleans, a boater with his dog floats past the Superdome. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – Evacuees are loaded into a helicopter on a freeway in New Orleans to be flown to safety. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – A school zone sign protrudes from the flood waters that engulfed hundreds of street in the city of New Orleans after the levees broke. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Search Specialists Mike King (left) and Tom Feehan hold “SearchCams,” apparatus that can extend to look for victims as they climb the rubble of a two- story collapsed apartment complex which had been destroyed by a massive surge. The search team was sent by FEMA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – A family is evacuated from the roof of their home in New Orleans after it was flooded follow Hurricane Katrina. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – Police in a small boat patrol the flooded streets of New Orleans looking for people needing rescue and looters. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – A rescue helicopter can be seen in the distance next to the Superdome. Initially the stadium was used to house evacuees from around New Orleans until it was determined to be unsafe. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – An evacuee tries to make it to a national guard vehicle in the flooded streets in New Orleans. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: August 31, 2005 – A Natuaral Resources officer guards police boats and equipment from looters downtown as a group of refugees gets a ride to a shelter in a police pickup truck. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: September 1, 2005 — A Jaguar found a resting place in a pool along Highway 90 in Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina blew through Monday. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 1, 2005 – “This is our city. It’s just gone. there is nothing left.” Chanel Tate, 17, of Biloxi looks mournfully at the remains of businesses along Highway 90 on the coast in Biloxi, MS. Hurricane Katrina dealt a blow to Biloxi and Gulfport. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 1, 2005 – “The good Lord spared it for a reason, it’s mine and I don’t want it to walk off,” Lee (Leo) Jordan said of his home and belongings on Rodenburd Avenue only a few steps from the beach in Biloxi. He did not stay in his home during Hurricane Katrina, but plans on staying there even though there is no power or water. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 1, 2005 – A Biloxi resident passes the Star Inn along Highway 90 in Biloxi, rummaging through what he could find after Hurricane Katrina blew through Biloxi and Gulfport. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September, 1, 2005 – A quick wash helps lift the spirits of Deijhane Powell, 7, of Biloxi, MS, who has been staying in a shelter with her mother, Koshena Powell. Their home on Lee Street was destroyed by the Hurricane Katrina and they have been staying in the shelter at Mary L. Michel 7th Grade School ever since. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 1, 2005 — Recalling the events of being rescued after her husband swam to his boat and how she jumped from a second floor window of her home into his arms, nurse Rhonda Johnson (stripes) of the Gentilly area of New Orleans weeps, concerned for the welfare of her mother as friend Rose Roche of Port Allen (back to camera) consoles her while they stand in line waiting to get much needed money from their insurance in Baton Rouge, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Angelique Lanier breaks into tears as she and her boyfriend, Luther Broadus, walk along Highway 90 in Biloxi and the homes destroyed there. They were walking their own dog and one they rescued (left). Broadus had tried to rescue the dog during the storm as it floated by their home but could not. They found it again on Tuesday and have been caring for it since. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: August 2, 2005 – A member of the National Guard implores hurricane survivors to step back, claiming that young and old were being pressed against the door of the New Orleans Shopping Center. in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. Buses rolled in and out, taking up to 50 people per bus to help evacuate the Superdome, which had become uninhabitable. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Bruce Merritt, Jr., 3 sits atop his father Bruce Merritt, as Angela Spear, 9 and Spear, 13 (left) look on while Bruce Sr., his wife and 8 children wait for word to leave. in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Derinque Sylvester, 7, who was evacuated with her grandmother Sheliah Lyons and other family members by helicopter from the roof of their two-story apartment building on Thursday morning after they were trapped by the floods, cries after a brief argument with her cousin while sitting with other evacuees from Hurricane Katrina at the Houston Astrodome. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Chiquit Parker, 15, from East New Orleans, watches her family’s belongings in the stands at the Houston Astrodome. Her family was in the New Orleans Superdome since Sunday and arrived at the Astrodome on Thursday night. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Two hurricane survivors cower as cool air from a hovering helicopter used by officials to attempt cooling the many remaining people outside the Superdome as heat stroke and related illness becomes a greater concern in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – With her cell phone charged after being plugged into a gasoline- powered generator, DeShawn Handy Henderson weeps as she finally contacts relatives in Houston after days without being able to reach them while standing on an on-ramp to Interstate 10 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 –Other hurricane survivors walk past as a member of the National Guard tries to comfort an elderly man who collapsed in the heat while waiting for his turn to be evacuated in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Light streams through from holes in the evacuated Superdome stadium, with litter strewn all over the field as Eddie Peterman of the Garden District sits, opening a packet from a MRE (meals ready to eat) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – A father grips the wrist of his daughter, watching as the National Guard move past them. Buses rolled in and out, taking up to 50 people per bus to help evacuate the Superdome, which had become uninhabitable. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Houstonian Adam Lesage holds up a sign trying to locate his best friend’s, friend’s sister who was evacuated to the Astrodome. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: September 2, 2005 – Survivors step on wooden pallets as they cross through standing water on their way to waiting buses that carried them away from Mid City. Buses rolled in and out, taking up to 50 people per bus to help evacuate the Superdome, which had become uninhabitable. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 3, 2005 – After Maryland Task Force One finished their search and rescue assignment in Waveland, Miss., Bob Frances, Hampstead, Md., rests between the beach and a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The flag was raised by the team. Later they moved to an unincorporated part of Hancock county to continue their search and rescue operations. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 3, 2005 – Family members walk around a medical evacuation helicopter at a military landing zone on a parking lot near the Convention Center as evacuations started in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 3, 2005 – Evacuees from Louisiana rest and receive food, showers and medical attention at the Houston Astrodome following the flooding from Hurricane Katrina. (John Makely/Baltimore Sun)

: September 03, 2005 – James Andrews is glad that the survivors finally were shuttled away from a now abandoned city at sunset near the New Orleans Convention Center, which once housed thousands of hurricane survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 4, 2005 – A pit bull swims among debris in the eastern New Orleans area six days after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the gulf coast. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 04, 2005 – Search and rescue helicopters land on Interstate 10, to evacuate residents who rode out the hurricane in the eastern part of New Orleans, six days after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the gulf coast. Some residents have decided to remain, even as they are surrounded by flooding and had options to evacuate. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 4, 2005 – Two emergency personnel slowly cruise up a flooded street in eastern New Orleans, six days after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the gulf coast. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 4, 2005 – Pamela Wynn and Glenn Mack look out from the front entrance of their home in the eastern New Orleans, six days after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the gulf coast. Some residents had decided to remain, even as they were surrounded by flooding and had the option to evacuate. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 4, 2015 – Jason Fowler, 18, lights a fire as it gets dark in Gulfport, Ms. He and his family have been camping next to their damaged trailer, without power and water, since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast a week before. The Fowler family’s trailer was flooded by the surge of Hurricane Katrina and the roof was damaged by a fallen tree making it impossible for them to live inside. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)

: September 5, 2005 – In Plaquemines Parisha a window and one corner of a resident’s home is all that remains standing one week after Hurricane Katrine tore apart several gulf states. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 7, 2005 – Bunne Burke (24 ysr old) mother of four including her prematurely born baby boy Skylar Burke, born on September 3. Bunne went into labor the night Katrina hit. She and her family evacuated to the Superdome, were Bunne fell and then was medevac to Women’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. (Monica Lopossay /Baltimore Sun)

: September 7, 2005 – After the water receded, dried, caked mud remained as evidence. Ralph Simmons walks around the back of the Econo Lodge Chalmette in St. Bernard’s Parish. Simmons, 49, and Jose Bolanos, 55, have been living at the motel since Hurricane Katrina swamped this coastal community. They lived off whatever they could salvage, sometimes scavenging food and bottled water from the diesel and oil polluted water surrounding them. (September 7, 2005 – Ralph Simmons stands in the downstairs rubble of the hotel he used to work in Chalmette, LA. He has been living at the Econo Lodge Chalmette in St. Bernard’s Parish, since Hurricane Katrina swamped this coastal community. He has worked at the hotel for six years and moved in after his house was destroyed. (André F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)/Baltimore Sun)

: September 7, 2005 – Ralph Simmons stands in the downstairs rubble of the hotel he used to work in Chalmette, LA. He has been living at the Econo Lodge Chalmette in St. Bernard’s Parish, since Hurricane Katrina swamped this coastal community. He has worked at the hotel for six years and moved in after his house was destroyed. (André F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)

: September 8, 2005 – Military personnel work together to help offload Milton Smith (in blue) from a personnel carrier outside the Convention Center to move him to be airlifted after he and other residents were rescued from the ninth floor of a nursing home as the mandatory evacuation was initiated throughout New Orleans. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 9, 2005 – Home, boat and car share the same space in Plaquemines Parish, LA, one week after Hurricane Katrina tore apart several gulf states. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

: September 11, 2005 – Sidney Bibbins, 64, checks on his house. Water came into the first floor and ruined everything, floating the mattress in the guest bedroom. (André F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)

: September 11, 2005 – New Orleans Police express their sentiments with a handwritten sign on the door of their makeshift headquarters at the Greyhound station downtown. Fourteen days after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is largely deserted except for military and rescue teams and the occasional holdout. (André F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)

: September 11, 2005 – Soldiers from the Army National Guard bring a detainee to the makeshift police headquarters at the Greyhound station. Officials were trying to clear people from the city. Fourteen days after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was largely deserted except for military and rescue teams and the occasional holdout. (André F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)

: September 14, 2005 – New Orleans city highways still are strewn with trash and debris from both Hurricane Katrina and residents that were stranded. (Monica Lopossay /Baltimore Sun)

: September 19, 2005 – A couple of roofers work to make repairs to an industrial building with the Superdome behind them as the city of New Orleans begins to let business and people trickle back into the area after Hurricane Katrina. (Monica Lopossay/Baltimore Sun)

Video: Visuals editor Chris Assaf remembers his time covering Katrina in Mississippi for The Sun.

Covering Katrina: Sun photographers remember hurricane’s devastation

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