PORT SULPHUR, La. -- Twelve years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, leaders in Plaquemines Parish broke ground Friday on a new multi-million dollar state-of-the-art public library in Port Sulphur.

“When I was a child, I learned how to read at the public library in Port Sulphur,” says Plaquemines Parish President Amos Cormier.  “Libraries offer essential resources to thriving communities.  Once completed, this facility will serve as the epicenter for  knowledge and exploring the outside world.  I couldn’t be happier for the people of Port Sulphur.”

The new library will be located at 138 Civic Drive.

NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane season is here, and all it takes is one severe storm to damage your home.

That's why WGNO meteorologist Adam Bowles made a quick safety stop at Chief Meteorologist Hank Allen's house to make sure his house was ready to weather any storm.

Here are some tips for preparing your home:

1. Trim your branches: Be sure to remove any branches that could blow up against your home during strong winds.
2.  Remove loose objects in your yard: You have to pick up any loose objects like lawn chairs, grills, and umbrellas that could get blown  around in high winds.
3.  Board up your windows: It's important to board up your windows to protect them from flying debris.
4. Park your car away from trees: Be sure to do this so a tree doesn't fall on top of your car. If there are too many trees around, ask a friend or a neighbor to share their garage or carport.

For more on hurricane season, visit our hurricane preparedness page.

NEW ORLEANS-  The first Atlantic Hurricane of the season has formed this morning. We are tracking Hurricane Beryl that is a Category 1 storm, that just formed in the Tropics this Friday. Right now it has 75 mph winds, slowly inching west towards the Lesser Antilles with pressure at a about a 1000 mb.

Meteorologist Adam Bowles says it's going to make its way towards the Lesser Antilles this weekend arriving in that area very early in the morning on Monday. But, that area has a really high amount of wind shear. This will likely tear the storm apart before it can even reach the U.S. We will keep tracking this as it inches westward.

Watch the forecast video above for the full forecast and Beryl's latest track. Follow Adam Bowles on Facebook and Instagram: @adambowlestv for the latest updates.

NEW ORLEANS -  If you wanted catfish in New Orleans, Louisiana, the name you dropped, at least for the last 75 years was Barrow's.

It WAS Barrow's.

Until now.

Now, it is Barrow's.

WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood is standing in a long line in front of the Barrow's Catfish .

The new restaurant is at 8300 Earhart Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118.

It's in the same strip shopping center as Riviera Fitness.

You probably know the location.

It's about six to eight blocks from the old Barrow's Catfish location.

The old Barrow's closed after Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.

The original restaurant was called Barrow's Shady Inn.

It opened back in 1943.

It made a big name for itself back in the day by serving simple.

Barrow's Shady Inn served up fried catfish.

That was the only entree on the menu.

And the only side dish that accompanied the only entree was potato salad.

And people loved it.

It was THE place to go to eat catfish in New Orleans.

The location after Hurricane Katrina is not the only thing about Barrow's Catfish that's new.

The menu is new.

The menu has more on it.

Catfish is still number one.  But now you can also get fried shrimp, crawfish bread and gumbo.

The reviews are top notch.

"Scrumptous," says a lady who was there when the doors re-opened.

"Sensationa," says a man who was thinking about ordering another plate to take home with him.

Barrow's Catfish is now open Monday - Thursday from 11 am to 9 pm.

It's open Friday and Saturday 11 am to 10 pm.

Closed on Sundays.

NEW ORLEANS -- With all the recovery milestones reached in the 13 years since Hurricane Katrina, one missed opportunity stands out: Charity Hospital.

When it was built in 1939, it was the second largest hospital in the country. The 20-story building is still impressive even though it has sat unused since the hurricane.

"If you think about all the things that have been done in the region since Katrina, I mean, everything has come back: police stations, fire stations, roads, bridges, jobs and entrepreneurship. But, we've left that building undeveloped," Andy Kopplin, the President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, explained on WGNO's In the Arena with John Young. "And, I think more importantly, we've left the district around it, 110 acres in the middle of downtown New Orleans, undeveloped."

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has started a planning process for the neighborhoods surrounding Charity Hospital called the Spirit of Charity Innovation District. But, the future of those plans relies on what happens to the centerpiece, which is still owned by the state.

"LSU has got the building. And, they are trying to redevelop the building," said Kopplin. "But, from the Greater New Orleans Foundation's perspective--so much more than just the building. You've got to fix the building to get the area unleashed. But if we unleash that 110 acres, there's just so much opportunity there for our city and our region."

The GNOF held its first community workshop in July to get the community involved. The next meeting will be August 13, 6 p.m., at the Delgado School of Nursing. Community input is important because, if done right, redeveloping Charity and the neighborhoods around the hospital could do a lot of good.

"We think it's a great opportunity to create a bunch of jobs, and then also use the creation of those jobs to address a lot of the big challenges that we face," said Kopplin. "First of all, connecting disconnected workers to those jobs. You know, helping people from our region get those good jobs. But, also addressing things like affordable housing, and improved transit, and public spaces. We really think there's a great opportunity with the Spirit of Charity Innovation District to create a robust, job-creating and yet equitable place."

In the Arena with John Young airs Sunday morning on WGNO at 6:30 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- There's a new -- and old -- spot in New Orleans that is said to be haunted by a Hurricane Katrina victim.

You may remember a burger joint called Charcoal's in the Irish Channel. People said it was haunted.

Simon the artist tried to get rid of the bad "juju" for them, but Charcoal's eventually closed.  Now Deanie's Sea Food Kitchen is in the same building, and Simon is helping out again.

The corner of Jackson Avenue and Magazine Street is where Vera Smith was killed after being hit by a drunk driver while walking one night during Hurricane Katrina.  Her body laid in the streets for days.

Authorities ignored her, but neighbors made a makeshift grave which sat on the vacant property for years.   Vera's body was later cremated and taken to her parents' grave site in Texas.  She's physically gone, but her spirit can still be felt.

"I think it is important to honor Vera,"  Simon Hardeveld said.

Simon of New Orleans is worried that Vera's spirit may be at unrest.  Now that a new restaurant is in the spot where Vera was killed, he felt that something needed to be done.

"Vera was not a sad woman.  She had a very good life.  We must put the bad spell of Vera out of the building,"  he said.

So to do that Simon and his artist friends built a special memorial right outside of Deanie's.    His friends who helped him were Vincent Minos, a brick mason, Michael Peart, a metal artist of Peart Republic, and Mark Derby of Derby Pottery and Tile.

"If Vera is still restless, then this has got to help,"  Derby said.

While Simon says business has been slow for Deanie's, the owner Chandra Chifici says Vera's not to blame.

"It's the summer and all restaurants in the city are slow in the summer.  This is normal,"  Chifici said.

We don't know if Vera's spirit is sticking around the area, but one thing we do know is this neighborhood will never forget her.

This is the third location for Deanie's.  The other two locations are in Bucktown and in the French Quarter.

For more information about Deanie's Sea Food Kitchen, click HERE.  

For more information about Simon the artist, click HERE. 

SHELL BEACH- The 13th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in the Gulf Coast is coming up August 29th. It is one of the worst hurricanes on record in American history. Shell beach was one of the very first towns destroyed by Katrina. Twist reporter Adam Bowles visited the fishing community and finds out what life is like 13 years after the storm.

"The water started rising in the attic m'am" and I'm gonna drown in the attic, I'm 37 years old." This was an actual 911 call made during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Shell Beach was destroyed.

Shell Beach, 13 years later, looks like a totally different place.  Life is here and new stories are being told. If you come here, the tragedy of that day, still lingers in the air. You will see scars that never healed. There are cypress trees with bark still ripped from them from the storm. But, what you will see, is life after the storm.

"Our day starts very early, my day starts at three o'clock in the morning," Robert Campo says.

Robert Campo lived here since he was born, taking care of his families' fishing marina that has been in his family for more than 100 years. In August 2005, with 175 mile per hour winds, Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.

"It just looks like a bomb went off in this whole place," Robert says.

Everything was gone except his passion which made him rebuild.

"Everybody wanted to come back fishing. You're never gonna stop fishing. That's why people come here is because the fishing is so good," Robert says.

Fishing, and living life on the water. This is what he lives and breathes for. He passed this passion down to his son Zack. "This is what I'm gonna die doing, this is what I grew up doing. I'm gonna die doing it. It runs in my blood. Salt water runs through my veins," Zack Campo says.

"It don't get no better than Shell Beach. I don't care how hard you try. You can go anywhere you want. This is it man. This place here man, this is home," Robert says.

Robert Campo says Shell Beach is one of the top places in the world to catch speckled trout and blue crab.

NEW ORLEANS -- The evening before the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's arrival and devastation along the gulf coast, people attended a pair of events that were inspired by the storm, its recovery and legacy.

At The Historic New Orleans Collection's Williams Research Center, people enjoyed a trio of films about flooding in the city.  The first two films focused on Hurricane Katrina.  The third film looked at the August 2017 flood that revealed many of the weaknesses regarding the city's pumps and their power supplies.

The event was called "Waterlogged: Artists' Views of Their Flooded City."  After the three films were shown, the filmmakers were on hand and answered questions from the crowd.  The program was part of an upcoming exhibit at THNOC called "Art of the City: Postmodern to Post-Katrina," which is sponsored by The Helis Foundation.

The second Katrina-related event of the evening was at the movie theaters on the third floor of Canal Place.  The event was called "Katrina Artistically Revisited."  It included more than a dozen authors, documentarians, photographers, and even musicians.  They shared their experiences with Katrina or the work to chronicle the storm's devastation.  This is the 13th year for the event.

To see some video from each of the events, click on the video button at the top of this page.

NEW ORLEANS - A volunteer group from Washington state, 360NOLA, continues to give back to New Orleans. They’ve been visiting the city since forming in 2009 to help rebuild homes damaged from Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

360NOLA co-founder Tanner Johnson, says "360 is the area code that me and Mariah Kerrihard, the other co-founder are from. We tie that in with Nola. We want to come into a community and make a 360 effect.”

Johnson and Kerrihardmade this year's 360NOLA volunteer trip for the 13th anniversary of the storm their biggest yet.

"We started in High school with all of our best friends. It was a tradition and it's something we've done every year. Giving back to the community, there's nothing better than that," Johnson said.

"I fell in love with the city when I came here and I've come every year since," Kerrihard said. "Being here, I never felt that love. I never felt a feeling like that. I thought, I want to keep coming back here. This is what fulfills me, almost felt like another home."

Johnson says around 5,000 families are without homes that have evacuated and haven't been brought back, such as floodings and other natural disasters.

“It's still a problem and that's why we keep coming back because the need is still here," he said.

Over the course of five days, August 24-28, the group recruited nearly 40 local and national volunteers to help work on two damaged homes. Both homes were affected by Katrina and one was damaged from both Katrina and the February 2017 Tornado in New Orleans East.

A New Orleans resident and 360NOLA volunteer, Casmé Barnes, says, "It's devastating to watch my family go through all of that, so to be a part of watching someone's homecoming back together, it's a blessing."

360NOLA works directly with SBP, a national disaster resilience and recovery organization that rebuilds storm-damaged housing for families who own homes that they cannot afford to rebuild. In New Orleans alone, SBP has rebuilt homes for 715 families and over 1,500 across the country. They assign the homes to 360NOLA that need work.

A first time 360NOLA volunteer and Dallas resident, Yaaqob Davis, says, "It's crazy to see that all these years later there's still damage that hasn't been fixed."

The group plans to keep the tradition of returning to New Orleans until the work is done. They also plan to expand and create a 360 effect in other cities across the country that are affected by natural disasters.

If you’re interested in being part of 360NOLA, you can email them at 360nola@gmail.com and follow them on social media, @360NOLA.

NEW ORLEANS-- 13 years ago New Orleans was underwater.  Businesses were forced to shut down because of Hurricane Katrina.  The true New Orleans way is to come back and come back stronger.

Today on the Katrina anniversary, News with a Twist Reporter Kenny Lopez went to visit some of the very first businesses to reopen after the hurricane hit.

Doors open wide and open signs lit up are two things we didn't see in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina because only a few spots were open for business.

Aidan Gill for Men barber shop Uptown was one of the first places to reopen.

"I do know that the store was heavily looted.  It took about six weeks to reopen as soon as we could.  Aidan Gill hung up a banner in the front of the store which said no surrender.  That was typically his response.  We've been here 20 years and high water didn't move us,"  Lyle Guidroz, General Manager of Aidan Gill said.

And not too far away on Magazine Street, Slim Goodies Diner was serving up good grub pretty much right after the storm.

"People needed food. We were pretty much here for the storm, through the storm and after the storm.  We never stopped feeding people coming in and out.  We were just serving people whatever we had.  If they didn't have any money they couldn't always pay us next time. The National Guard kept bringing us water and we got the food from Sam's Club,"  Joshua Enderle, Manager of Slim Goodies Diner said.

Both businesses said it was important to reopen so quickly to show our city's resilence and show that New Orleans would come back strong.

For more information about Aidan Gill for Men, click HERE.

For more information about Slim Goodies Diner, click HERE.

WAVELAND, Ms. -  It's hard to believe it's been thirteen years.

That's how long ago it was that  Hurricane Katrina hit.

Ground Zero for Katrina was Waveland, Mississippi.

A memorial for the people who died in the hurricane is at the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum in Waveland.

WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood and his camera want you to take a moment or two to remember.

The people of Waveland, Mississippi will never forget.

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) - New Orleanians probably know Chris Rose’s name from reading his legendary work in The Times-Picayune, or maybe from "1 Dead in the Attic" his New York Times best-selling book of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

That’s why Rose was a natural choice for LBJ’s Gone Fishin’ series.

Rose spent most of his professional life commenting on the state of our city, but these days he's got a new endeavor.

"There's only two things that I know to do, and one of them is not fish.  I know how to write and I know how to talk, and I have no other marketable skills whatsoever,” he says. “What I have learned is that you make more money in this town talking than you can writing.”

Rose has started a unique take on French Quarter tours.

"The tour is - and I gotta get this right because sometimes I mix up words - basically it's called The New Orleans Magical Musical History Mystery Tour.  What it is, the first thing is, every word of it is true. That's the first tour that can guarantee that,” he says.

Some business owners would try to map out a marketing plan using traditional methods, but not him. He decided to capitalize on folks who were already in touch.

"You know I used to be famous … I used to be famous,” he says. “Back then, I got myself a lot of Facebook friends, and I held on to them, because one day I'm gonna need these people for something.”

Want to take a tour? Email Rose at chrisrose504@gmail.com.

CHAPEL HILL, NC – Mandey Brown survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005, so she knows what it’s like to lose everything to a massive storm.

Now she’s doing everything she can to help her neighbors recover from Hurricane Florence.

Brown said she still wakes up at night thinking about the aftermath of Katrina 13 years ago.

The New Orleans native was in the process of moving back to town when Katrina struck and destroyed the things she had already moved, and then Hurricane Rita wiped out her job in Thibodaux soon after.

For weeks after Katrina hit, Brown wasn’t able to get into contact with her father, a cameraman at a local TV station.

Her parents lost their house in Katrina, and so did countless friends and family members.

While she has worked hard to move on after the devastation the 2005 hurricane season, the feelings of dread and helplessness returned as Hurricane Florence approached Brown’s current home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she owns a bar called Zog’s and a Cajun food restaurant named Imbibe.

Without hesitation, Brown turned Zog’s and Imbibe into makeshift collection centers and began taking in as many supplies as possible.

In short order, Brown was overwhelmed by the donated goods and overcome with emotion at the generosity of the Chapel Hill community.

“Our community is so incredible,” Brown said as she struggled to hold back tears in a Facebook Live video she filmed while walking amid the donations.

Before the storm made landfall, Brown began handing out free bags of ice to anyone who stopped by her businesses, a kindness which was returned in the form of dozens of containers of donated water.

One set of donations in particular really got the tears flowing, but at the same time reaffirmed her dedication to helping those affected by Florence, Brown said.

“I think the diapers, I think that’s what started me tearing up, because I can’t imagine a situation where you’re holding your baby in your arms and you cannot change your baby, you cannot clean your baby,” she said. “But the only thing is that I can imagine it because I went through this already 13 years ago with Katrina. I watched my family and friends go through this, and this is why this makes so much sense to me to do this.”

Brown is still collecting supplies, which she will send to the Durham fruit warehouse and then straight to RDU airport.

About 20 pilots have signed up to fly single engine Cessnas down to the coast to deliver supplies, and there is a steady stream of vehicles bringing supplies to Durham and to the airport to be dispersed as needed.

Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigned Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office confirmed, on the same day that photos of him in blackface at a party nearly 15 years ago were publicly revealed.

“I am submitting my resignation as Florida Secretary of State effective immediately,” Ertel said in an email sent to DeSantis Thursday afternoon, provided by the DeSantis’ office to CNN. “It has been an honor to serve you and the voters of Florida.”

DeSantis’ press office said in an email to CNN that “the governor accepted Secretary Ertel’s resignation.”

Ertel’s resignation comes in conjunction with the release of photos of him in blackface at a private Halloween party in 2005, obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The photos show Ertel — who is white — in blackface, wearing red lipstick, a New Orleans Saints bandana, fake breasts and large earrings.

Ertel confirmed to the Democrat that the photos were of him, adding, “there’s nothing I can say.”

DeSantis’ office saw the photos obtained by the Democrat for the first time Thursday morning, and announced that DeSantis accepted Ertel’s resignation hours later, the paper reported.

DeSantis was sworn in earlier this month, with Ertel’s tenure lasting just under a month.

In 2005, Ertel served as Seminole County supervisor of elections. That same year, Hurricane Katrina slammed the southeast coast, causing more than 1,800 deaths, catastrophic flooding and billions of dollars in damage centered in New Orleans.

Thousands of storm evacuees took shelter at the Louisiana Superdome, where the New Orleans Saints play.

Ertel could not be immediately reached for comment.

Katrina, Florence, Matthew, and Harvey names that strike fear if you live along any coast.

Four devastating and deadly hurricanes costing billions of dollars in damage and countless lives.

These are the stories of people who lived through the terror of ferocious winds and massive flooding.

They made it out alive, but barely survived.

Listen to these incredible stories from New Orleans, Houston, Norfolk, Richmond, and Greensboro on the Hurricane Madness: I Barely Survived podcast.

Subscribe to Hurricane Madness: I Barely Survived:

iTunes
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Republican Rep. Steve King, who has a lengthy history of incendiary comments related to race, favorably compared the response of his Iowan constituents, who are majority white, to recent severe flooding to the residents of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, who were majority black.

Speaking at a town hall in his district Thursday, King suggested that Hurricane Katrina disaster victims were asking for government assistance after the deadly storm hit, pushing a racial stereotype.

“Here’s what FEMA tells me. We go to a place like New Orleans, and everybody’s looking around saying, ‘Who’s going to help me? Who’s going to help me?'” King said, adding that he made four trips to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

“We go to a place like Iowa, and we go, we go see, knock on the door at, say, I’ll make up a name, John’s place, and say, ‘John, you got water in your basement, we can write you a check, we can help you.’ And John will say, ‘Well, wait a minute, let me get my boots. It’s Joe that needs help. Let’s go down to his place and help him,'” King said.

He added that FEMA is “always gratified when they come and see Iowans take care of each other, and so that’s a point of pride that spreads across the country everywhere that I know.”

King’s comments came as he was discussing the heavy flooding in parts of Iowa and the Midwest. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts sought and received federal disaster assistance funds earlier this week.

While devastating, the floods in Iowa and Nebraska resulted in a handful of deaths, while Katrina was responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in Louisiana alone.

CNN has reached out to King’s office for comment.

Louisiana legislators swiftly condemned King’s remarks, including House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Republican who represents a part of New Orleans, who said King’s comments were “absurd and offensive.”

“His comments about Katrina victims are absurd and offensive, and are a complete contradiction to the strength and resilience the people of New Orleans demonstrated to the entire nation in the wake of the total devastation they experienced,” Scalise said in a statement provided to CNN.

On Twitter, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, called King’s comments “disgusting and disheartening.”

“When communities are affected by disasters, we come together to help each other, not tear each other down,” he said.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, a Democrat whose district includes New Orleans, said, “My heart goes out to all Iowans. Though it unsettles me that (King) would dare compare them to the countless victims of Katrina, many of whom lost their lives.”

“When people show you who they are, believe them. Steve King is a white supremacist and I won’t stand for it,” Richmond said on Twitter.

King recently came under scrutiny for sharing a Facebook post over the weekend that boasts red states would “win” a fight against blue states — and that they have “8 trillion bullets.” He later removed the post.

In January, the Iowa Republican was stripped of his committee assignments following remarks he made to the New York Times that were sympathetic to white supremacy, though King said his comments were taken out of context.

NEW ORLEANS - The 80-year-old business sold for $1.7M at auction on Thursday afternoon.

New Orleans businessman Sidney Torres purchased the Circle Food Store with hopes of keeping it running.

Torres partnered with Fouad El-Jaouhari, who owns and operates stores in the New Orleans area including Magnolia Discount.

The two plan to have the business up and running by the end of 2019, serving as a food hall, similar to the St. Roch market.

According to the former owner, Dwayne Boudreaux, the store opened in 1938 and was one of the country’s oldest African-American-owned groceries.

Boudreaux said his dad started working with the store in 1987 and eventually became the owner.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, the store suffered wind and flood damage, causing it to close its doors.

In 2014, after being closed for nine years, the store announced its grand re-opening.

Boudreaux said he took over the store in May 2017.

Unfortunately since then, several power outages have caused the loss of merchandise and poor drainage systems have caused the store to flood multiple times.

Boudreaux says the debt that has accrued over the years is something he isn't able to handle.

NEW ORLEANS –  Kathleen Blanco, the small-town school teacher who became Louisiana’s first female Governor, has died after a long battle with cancer.  She was 76.

“Knowing this day was imminent,” said New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell, “does not make this loss any easier to bear.”

Blanco was Lieutenant Governor from 1996 to 2004, and was Governor from 2004 to 2008.

In 2005, Blanco’s response to Hurricane Katrina became the defining period of her political career. She was both praised and criticized for her handling of the state’s efforts to rescue trapped residents of New Orleans, while under pressure to allow the federal government to take the lead.  She did not run for a second term.

“She led Louisiana through one of our darkest hours,” said Governor John Bel Edwards in a statement, “I hope history will remember (her) as a tireless advocate for Louisiana who fought fiercely for our state to rebuild following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”

Blanco’s political career was a series of “firsts.”

She was born in Coteau, Louisiana in 1942.  After graduating with a degree in business education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she became a teacher at Breaux Bridge High School.

Blanco did not enter politics until 1984, when she became the the first woman to represent the Lafayette area in the sate legislature.

Five years later, she became the first woman to serve on the Public Service Commission, a post she held until 1994.

Blanco became Lieutenant Governor in 1995, and won a second term in 1999.

On January 12, 2004, Blanco took the oath of office as the state’s first woman Governor.

The Louisiana Democratic Party released a statement on her passing, calling her a leader who “destroyed glass ceilings.. defended the most vulnerable… (and) showed unwavering resolve in the face of our state’s biggest struggles.”

Even those on the other side of the political aisle have released statements praising her and offering condolences to her family.

From Louisiana’s Republican delegation in Congress, Senator John Kennedy released a statement saying, “True faith makes you fearless, and that faith was Kathleen’s solace and strength.  Louisiana has suffered a tremendous loss with her passing.”

In Senator Bill Cassidy’s statement, he said Blanco “conducted herself with class and grace. ”

Senator Steve Scalise said in a statement that Blanco “served our state with honor and integrity… and will be remembered as someone who cared deeply for Louisiana.”

Blanco is survived by her husband, Raymond “Coach” Blanco, six children and 13 grandchildren.

Her family released a statement saying that “she knew that her name would forever be linked to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (but) it was her dying wish to be remembered for faith in God, commitment to family, and love of Louisiana.”

Governor Edwards has announced that Blanco’s body will lie in state at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge until her funeral, Saturday, Aug. 24.

Photos by Lenor Duplessis of the 2018 Commemorative Ceremony

CHALMETTE, LA – The St. Bernard Parish Government will host the event, to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The commemoration will be held at the Katrina Monument in Shell Beach, this Thursday, August 29.

Thursday will mark the 14th anniversary of the deadly hurricane.

This event is held each year in memory of the St. Bernard residents who lost their lives.

Photos by Lenor Duplessis of the 2018 Commemorative Ceremony

The ceremony will begin at 11:30 A.M.

St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis and the St. Bernard Parish Council invite the public to attend the commemorative ceremony.

Family members are encouraged to attend.

Photograph by Gus Bennett

Update- Jean Joseph still lives in New Orleans, and is turning her screenplay into a book.  She’s also finishing a documentary called “Broken Mirrors – I am Not my Scars.”

NEW ORLEANS – Jean Joseph remembers that she couldn’t run, because the rubber in the soles of her shoes had melted into the floor.

She remembers thinking that her friend looked like a human x-ray, because she could see the bones of his skull and spine as if she were seeing right through him.

She remembers the nurses who were so rough with her they made her cry, and the ones who were as gentle as angels.

Almost one year after Hurricane Katrina, on August 26, 2006, Jean Joseph got the FEMA trailer she’d been waiting for.  A friend had allowed her to put it in a big yard in New Orleans East.

The inspector for the trailer company showed Jean around inside and answered her questions.  She had been curious about the stove, and the inspector showed her how to start the burners.  Outside, he showed her the propane tanks and had her sign the paperwork.

In the federal government’s initial, disorganized response to the storm, journalists reported on the desperate plight of flood victims who lacked temporary housing.  Thousands of FEMA trailers were sitting in a field in Arkansas, miles from where they were needed.  But Jean Joseph had not been warned about a danger she’d face when she finally got one.

According to statistics from the Louisiana Fire Marshal’s office, reported by freelance reporter Mark Robinson in Gambit in 2007, there were nearly twice as many fires as usual between 2005 and 2006– involving mobile homes.

When asked about the numbers, Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Brant Thompson told WGNO that they may not be accurate. Thompson said his office has changed its data bases four times since Katrina, and he couldn’t vouch for the Gambit report. But the risk of propane gas inside a small space is very real.

On the day Jean signed the inspection papers, she waited for a friend, Bernard Mabry, to join her. Together, they walked around the outside of the trailer, and then opened the door to go inside.  Jean has written a screenplay that describes what happened next.  Reading it is not for the faint of heart.

From “And Still I Rise” by Jean Joseph:

Jean walked over to the bed
and started to empty the overnight bag. She noticed a
strange smell…
Suddenly,there is a loud noise behind her…
What the hell?
Jean turn toward the source of the noise. (Bernard) is on fire.
He’s moving animatedly like a wind-up toy and yelling. The
yellow and blue components of the fire separated and are
spreading across the trailer’s interior. Meanwhile,
a massive blue ball of fire is hurling toward her. She
glanced toward the door, but the fear of the fire prevented
her from moving. She decided it would be quicker to turn her
back to the fire than to try to escape. She’s
immediately engulfed in flames and begins to scream.
They screamed together in pain and agony.
(screaming)
God please, help us! Lord have
mercy!
(Screaming)
Help! Lord, have mercy. Jesus!

When the inspector showed Jean how to use the stove, he had inadvertently left the burners open, allowing propane gas to fill the trailer.  When Jean and Bernard stepped inside, the gas ignited, causing a fiery explosion.

They were both flown to the Galveston Burn Center in Texas, where Bernard died 19 days later.

In the screenplay, Jean says she saw him in a dream, standing by her hospital bed, alive and healthy, telling her goodbye.

Over the next six months,  Jean endured multiple skin grafts in Galveston and at the burn unit at Baton Rouge Medical Center. Today, she jokes that she has had so many surgeries,  “80 %” of her body is a “graft.”

Still, 13 years after the fire — and on the fourteenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s strike on the Gulf Coast — Jean  calls her life “blessed.”

A local law firm sued the trailer contractor and won a settlement that has allowed her to live independently in her own home.  She got a degree in humanities from Loyola University.  And she was encouraged by her sister to write the screenplay about the fire that nearly killed her.

The screenplay  ends with the fulfillment of a promise Jean says she made to God.  If he would heal her enough to be able to walk again, she would “second line” out of the hospital.

On the day she was discharged in January 2007, with Mardi Gras beads and a parasol provided by nurses, Jean kept that promise.

From “And Still I Rise,” by Jean Joseph:

Wait ’til you hear the music before
you come out.. Deidre put the
beads around Jean’s neck and hugged her. When she hears the
music, she dances out of her room and down the hallway.