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Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, survivors and first responders are reflecting on how their personal hardships pushed them to persevere and rebuild New Orleans.
“I was in the water trying to get to my parents,” said Salvation Army Captain David Brittle. “But I didn’t realize God was using me to save others. After losing almost everything in Katrina, including a parent, I don’t take it for granted that I now have the privilege to share my faith.”
In August 2005, the world saw Hurricane Katrina become the deadliest and costliest storm in the U.S. In that devastation, Brittle went on a two-and-a-half-day mission through the flooded streets in an attempt to save his parents, rescuing others along the way.
TEXAS FLOOD RECOVERY VOLUNTEERS FIND DIGNITY IN HELPING VICTIMS
Debris from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina piled up in the street. (The Salvation Army)
Riding in an airboat off Highway 10, Brittle proceeded despite police warnings. They passed the Garden District and the French Quarter, iconic landmarks that were unrecognizable.
“I’ve never seen or felt darkness like that before,” he said. “You could hear gunshots, helicopters overhead and people screaming in the distance.”
Just weeks before Brittle set out on his search, he had been working for Loomis Armored Car while living in Texas with his wife and kids. Then his family decided to move to New Orleans, where his father, Major Brittle, worked as area commander of The Salvation Army.
As the storm intensified, Major Brittle stayed in the city to keep the Center of Hope Shelter open for those in need and encouraged his son to take his wife and children to his sister’s house in Houston, a 12-hour drive.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, AUGUST 29, 2005, HURRICANE KATRINA SLAMS GULF COAST, CAUSING MASSIVE DAMAGE
People impacted by Hurricane Katrina line up to receive aid from the Salvation Army in Jefferson, Louisiana in August 2005. (The Salvation Army)
When Katrina made landfall, more than 50 levees and floodwalls failed, causing 80% of the city to flood. One of those buildings was the Center of Hope. Although nestled on a slight incline, the sheer power of the storm was no match.
“For it to get into the first floor of the building, that’s a lot of water,” said Captain Brittle.
In an attempt to save the lives of those in the flooding shelter, Major Brittle rapidly flickered lights, like Morse code, trying to get the attention of helicopters. Desperate, through the floodwater, he repeatedly tried to reach first responders using a payphone, only to hear the deafening sound of silence on the other end. And then, a miracle.
In the last attempt at help, he gripped the phone, bringing it slowly to his ear, and finally heard a dial tone. Knowing he wouldn’t have much time, he called his son.
“He said ‘Just in case something were to happen, if we don’t make it? I just want to let you know that I love you guys.’ Just when he got done speaking, the phone went dead,” said Captain Brittle, recalling the final conversation with his father.
A Salvation Army truck brought from Greater New York to assist with recovery efforts following the destruction in the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. (The Salvation Army)
That call was the moment Brittle and his sister knew they had to return. As they headed to Louisiana, they stopped at Baton Rouge’s Salvation Army disaster relief post. Having grown up around his father’s colleagues, David was able to get access and join a boat crew, searching flooded neighborhoods.
“We were rescuing people as we went, getting them out of their houses,” he said.
But as more hours passed, hope began to fade.
“I did lose hope,” he admitted. “The goals we set didn’t look like they were going to happen.”
Then a call came over CB radio announcing that 300 survivors at the Center of Hope had been airlifted off the roof.
He and his sister rushed to the Cloverlead drop-off site in Metairie, where survivors were being brought by helicopter.
Volunteers with the Salvation Army provide food and aid to those impacted by the destruction from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. (The Salvation Army)
“We found the Salvation Army canteen there,” he recalled. “I grew up around the Salvation Army, so I knew a lot of people. I just walked up to them and said, ‘Hey, have you seen Major Richard Brittle?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, they just left to go to Baton Rouge.’”
Without hesitation, Captain Brittle headed back to Baton Rouge.
“When my dad walked out, we embraced. It was the biggest hug he ever gave me. He said he loved me. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Two years later, after having contracted a parasite in the floodwaters, Major Brittle developed cancer and passed away, his son said. Brittle finds purpose in that loss.
“I don’t think I’d be an officer today if my dad were still alive,” he said. “His witness and his calling helped move me into mine.”
Reminiscing on his harrowing journey 20 years after the storm, he told Fox News Digital he found peace in the tragedy as the community was able to rebuild.
“We can take something devastating, and something beautiful can come from it,” he said. “The culture is back. The hope is back. Going through things makes you appreciate life a little more.”
That’s exactly what Meghan Foley, now the Salvation Army’s National Director of Emergency Services, saw.
Three years post-Katrina, Foley earned her teaching degree and moved to New Orleans, working at a newly opened charter school operating out of a trailer on a demolished campus.
“They’d been shuffled from school to school, and most were behind academically because the infrastructure was so broken,” she said. “They told me stories of being rescued by helicopters, and they’d just say, ‘Well, that’s what happened, Ms. Meghan.’ Like it was normal.”
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A Salvation Army volunteer goes through toy donations after Hurricane Katrina decimated parts of the Gulf Coast in August 2005. (The Salvation Army)
Foley said that although these children had horrible stories to share, they still saw them positively. Foley began to understand that community resilience meant balancing the trauma of the past with the cultural joy that New Orleans brings.
She vividly remembers her first Mardi Gras with the students whose parents were part of a krewe throwing painted coconuts into the crowd. So she made a lesson plan to paint coconuts.
“I was teaching science, so the kids could decide if they wanted to decorate them based on the water cycle or the life cycle…things they were learning in the classroom,” said Foley.
As she saw her students paint those coconuts, it didn’t matter that they were in an untraditional classroom setting; they were happy celebrating the culture of New Orleans.
She says there was a juxtaposition of the storm’s trauma and the joy of the city to keep moving forward.
“Resilience isn’t just a buzzword, it’s people using joy as a tool for recovery,” Foley said. “They rely on each other. That’s what makes New Orleans unique.”