Spring Break
Struggles remain for Katrina survivor
Amber Benson
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: News
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Drobish, an artist from Bay St. Louis, Miss., shared her emotional experience as a resident in 'hurricane central' with a journalism class, the campus Optimist Club and at a common council meeting in Irvin Young Auditorium.
"I still cry when I talk about it," Drobish said.
A family friend convinced Drobish to evacuate the area before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Since she had never evacuated her house before, Drobish saw it as a "vacation." She did not realize the storm would devastate her hometown.
"I thought I knew everything [about hurricanes]," Drobish said. "We'd had hurricanes before. I really knew nothing."
Drobish's studio was destroyed by the hurricane. She is rebuilding it through the money she raised from an art show at the Double Dip Deli in Whitewater.
The rest of her property was not damaged as badly as the houses and businesses owned by her neighbors. Drobish said she was three blocks away from total destruction. Still, it took her six months to fix the damage in and around her house.
Drobish helped distribute canned foods, mattresses, cold medicine, apples, carrots, roast beef and other useful items to members of her community. Initially, there was nowhere for people to get water, ice or gas. Green vegetables were in high demand as well. In order to use a cell phone, a person would have to lean over the local bridge in order to get a signal.
Drobish welcomed 32 people who had nothing left to move into her house, partly because she had electricity three weeks before the majority of the city's other residents.
"There was no post office, hospital, grocery store or bank," Drobish said. "The police and firefighters were looking for dead bodies."
Drobish said there was an incredible amount of debris throughout the city.
"Walking past a root system that's above ground is like walking past a skyscraper."
Drobish credited volunteers with offering the most help to the people of Bay St. Louis. She has been inspired to help others whenever they are in a situation similar to hers.
"I've learned my lesson," Drobish said. "In a disaster of this size, the Red Cross wasn't a big help. It was the volunteers who helped not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. If something happens somewhere else, I'll pack up and go help."
Drobish said small businesses are still struggling. Many workers transferred elsewhere in order to maintain their high annual income. However, there have been improvements. For example, the local Wal-Mart is now a building of plywood instead of being located inside a tent.
Drobish called the challenges her community faces due to Hurricane Katrina the "new normal." She became a member of a book club because it gave her something different to talk about other than the hurricane.
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