By David Fleet
Special from The Citizen
New Orleans seemed like a great vacation destination.
Tom Turnbull, 27, a Brandon Township resident and 1998 graduate from Oxford High School along with his fianc’e Melissa Kember,19 scheduled a week at the Park Plaza Hotel near Canal Street just four blocks from the historic French Quarter and only seven blocks from Bourbon Street.
Hurricane Katrina, however, was not on that schedule. The area couple were in New Orleans when the devastating hurricane slammed the Gulf Shore.
‘The weather was great when we arrived,? said Kember. It was really hot on Wednesday (Aug.5). But late Friday or early Saturday we heard a hurricane was coming that had just hit Florida. Some said it could hit near New Orleans.?
‘We even went to a hurricane party down on Bourbon Street on Friday night,? said Turnbull. ‘They were joking about the hurricane coming at us saying, ‘give that Katrina some Midol.??
Yet the storm heading toward New Orleans was no joke and by early Sunday morning the hotel was filled to capacity. Many of the staff from nearby Tulane University Hospital and Clinic came across the street to stay.
‘A lot of the local people who have experienced hurricanes go to hotels to wait it out. So ours was full with more the 700 people,? said Kember. ‘By that time there was no transportation out of the city either’then the weather changed and clouds rolled in and it got much cooler. We realized at this point we were stranded in town. So we went out and purchased supplies.?
The couple collected a meager supply of canned and dry foods. They also filled the bathtub in their room with water to keep fresh water available.
‘The hotel staff assured us everything would be fine’come to find out they lied. They just wanted the business generated by all those people staying there. There was no generator and no food either. The rooms at the hotel were so full of people, one person would go rent a room, then others would come in to stay with them.?
The couple described the hurricane rain that came sideways, building materials blown down the street into parked cars and howling wind gusts of at least 100 mph.
‘I wasn’t afraid until the hurricane hit early Monday morning and the water was about 2 feet deep in the street around our hotel,? said Kimber. ‘Later we realized the hotel did not have food so we waded out to find nonperishable food. Store owners just sat food outside’the cops were around and said just take it.?
By Tuesday morning the water was much higher and jet black. The smell of rotting sea food lingered. There was looting everywhere, said Turnbull.
‘It’s one thing to take what you need to live. But people were taking clothes and electronics from the stores. I saw a flat screen plasma TV that someone had dropped. People didn’t need to do that, who needs a TV to survive, when there’s no electricity.?
On Tuesday as the water was rising the couple had to decide if they should evacuate the downtown area and stay at the New Orleans Superdome.
‘We decided we should leave and were being rushed. You could take one bag per person, we walked about five city blocks through chest high jet black water. The smell of oil and gas were in the water. There were a lot of obstacles under the water and you really had to be careful where you stepped.?
‘When we arrived at highway I-10 we were told by a Marine to just wait and someone would come pick us up. It never happened,? said Kimber.
After waiting about four hours with darkness approaching the couple walked the 2 miles down the highway to the Superdome.
‘It was dark, police and military were everywhere,? said Kimber. ‘People were sleeping along the side of the road. We couldn’t see much else along the way, I’m glad.?
Inside the Superdome conditions were awful, said Kimber. The smell of feces in the bathrooms was horrible. They slept on the floor of the dome and kids were out there playing football all the time. Food was available but it would be a two hour wait. The pair stayed in the dome from Tuesday night until Friday.
‘We were the minority there,? said Turnbull. ‘You can’t fight back. People would take cuts in front of you waiting in the long lines. The rumors were flying all around. Some said, ‘they broke the levy to drown the poor blacks and save the white men. It’s so ridiculous.?
On Wednesday night the couple were awakened by the sound of gun shots.
‘Someone took a gun from a Marine and then shot her in the foot,? said Kimber. I was afraid. Someone even started a fire inside the dome. There was black smoke everywhere until the fire department came and put it out. They broke into the liquor cabinets at the Superdome and were trying to sell the booze to people there.?
During the day the sunlight came through the top of the dome where the hurricane ripped off part of the roof and the sound was constant, said Kimber.
‘The place was trashed. It’s no place to stay.?
On Thursday the couple started evacuating the Superdome for the Houston Astrodome. The Marines separated the men from the women and children and formed two groups.
‘I waited in line for 17 hours to get on the bus,? said Kimber. I kept getting pushed back in line I had to stand there all night. In the morning I started crying and had to sit down on my bag. Some lady grabbed my shirt and pushed me back on the floor. She then sat on me and would not get off. She kept screaming about Jesus. Finally some guy pushed her off me and picked me up. He carried me through the line ? knocking people down on the way. He took me to like a first aid place and poured water on me to cool me off. I got on the bus about 8:30 am. It was about seven hours until we made it to the Houston Astrodome. There we met up.?
Turnbull was also pushed back in line many times until a Marine grabbed him and ushered him on the bus. ‘People in line would yell that someone was having a heart attack or having a baby or whatever it took to get to the front. After about 50 times you start to not listen and just stand there.?
Melissa’s mother was also in New Orleans during the same week. When Hurricane Katrina was sure to strike the Gulf Coast she had taken a cab to Jackson, Miss. and from there rented a car. After conversing with the couple via cell phones, she drove to Houston and picked up both Tom and Melissa for the trip back to Michigan. They arrived home late Tuesday night.
Contrary to many reports both Melissa and Tom say there was plenty of assistance from the Marines and plenty of food and water. When they left the Superdome, cases of water were stacked on the floor.
‘The Marines and police were doing all they could do,? said Melissa.