Students fear Gustav post-Katrina

For sophomore Jacob Sherry, evacuating when a hurricane or bad storm was near his home in the West Bank area of New Orleans was no big deal. In fact, it was like a little vacation.

“Evacuating was a pretty normal part of the end of summer,” he said.

But when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, his attitude changed.

While being at college made him and other students from the area feel more removed, they know the devastation a storm like Hurricane Gustav can bring.

Three days ago, Sherry’s parents and sister evacuated to Memphis to stay with friends.

They took pets, pictures, important documents and other things that had value to the family.

Luckily, he said when the storm hit New Orleans on Monday, it wasn’t that bad.


       SLIDE SHOW: Hurricane Gustav


But it was an exercise in letting go, he said. Being so far away, there’s nothing Sherry can do for his stressed family, except talk to them over the phone.

Senior Allison Cohen’s parents also had to evacuate the city. She said in an e-mail that before Katrina, she would ride out the storms and hurricanes in her grandparent’s condo.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin set out a zero tolerance mandate for looters and those who stayed behind who violated curfew, giving Hurricane Gustav a much different feel than before Katrina, Cohen said.

She said her family has more fear for Gustav than they did before Katrina hit, and they took extra precautions with their belongings.

Freshman Zack Brenner’s family evacuated to Monroe, La. During Katrina, floods did damage to his parents’ houses.

He said he was used to evacuating, too. This time, it was more widespread.

While Brenner said he didn’t know much about the situation, he didn’t think there was much flooding where he lived.

He said it was scary thinking a storm like Katrina could happen again. He said he’s glad to be out of the storm’s way at IU where he and his things are safe. But Brenner also said he feels a little helpless.

“It also feels bad I’m not with my family at this point,” he said.