By Jere Hough Meteorologist / Feature Reporter
.
Published: Tue, May 20, 2008 - 3:17 pm
Jere Hough
Away from those precious islands of height, neighborhoods are creating their own kind of elevation...with stilts.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, believes that elevation lowers damage potential from rising water, and financial aid can be contingent on construction adhering to their guidelines.
So what's it like to live on a tower? Here is what some Pass Christian residents said.
Thuc Hoang says,"The house sways in the wind. We can feel it at night when we're in bed."
Jerry Carrie says the same thing. "When we get a really good wind, it moves pretty good. I call it my 'tree house.'"
"The house sways and shakes when the trains go by," comments John Dubuisson.
But it turns out there's a lot to like, too.
"The underhouse is great," says Jerry Carrie. "You get a good breeze. It's nice and cool under there. You can work. I store my boat under there, my cars. whatever."
Kris Oustalet stands near the top of his front door staircase and looks around. "You know, the beach is right there. You have downtown Pass Christian, wonderful neighbors. you have beautiful scenery around you."
But climbing all those stairs with groceries? Not necessarily a problem. See why in "Stilts," Part Two.
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I was a teenager in ‘69. Me and some buddies went to Biloxi for one last blow out before returning to school. We were staying in a little motel right next to the Vapors. Luckily I crashed kind of early Saturday night and woke up early Sunday. Turned on the TV and the reporter was saying get the hell out of there and this was no joke!
Long story, but we got out of there on a bus because the car we came in broke down and we were stranded. Nothing but the gray concrete slab was left of that motel.
Katrina was huge and had a double-eye wall. That is why the damage was so widespread. But, New Orleans looked like it had been spared the brunt of the storm until the levees gave way to the pounding surge.