Ninth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Nine years ago today, Hurricane Katrina reached landfall on the Gulf Coast. The storm claimed the lives of 231 Mississippians and left more than 45 million cubic yards of debris in its wake. In a statement released today, current Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, said of the storm:

It forever changed the landscape of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and lives for countless families that were permanently displaced. Since that time, Mississippians have shown incredible strength, resilience, and a caring spirit for their neighbor while building back the Gulf Coast stronger than before Hurricane Katrina.

In the nine years since Katrina UPM has published several books focused on Hurricane Katrina, its impact on the Gulf Coast and the people of Louisiana and Mississippi. It’s encouraging to see that through devastation of the storm, people still found the resiliency to create art and tell their story.

Below, we’ve identified three books that deal exclusively with the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina: The Mississippi Story by James Patterson Smith

This book is the fullest account yet written of the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Rooted in a wealth of oral histories and other primary sources, it tells the dramatic but under-reported story of a people who confronted unprecedented devastation.

Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember Photography by MelodyGolding and Edited by Sally Pfister

This book combines 86 of Melody Golding's striking black-and-white photographs with more than 50 firsthand accounts of Mississippi women, providing uncommonly personal insights into the life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina

Under Surge, Under Siege: The Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina By Ellis Anderson

Ellis Anderson, who rode out the storm in her Bay St. Louis home, wrote a book that is part memoir, personal diary, and firsthand reportage. This book invites readers into the intimate enclave before, during, and after the storm and offers stories of generosity, heroism, and laughter in the midst of terror and desperate uncertainty.