Five years ago this weekend, the storm of the century rocked the gulf coast.
Katrina displaced families and caused many to leave the gulf region. Some of those families, ended up here in the Tri-Cities.
As we remember the travesty, Michael Baker, a Unicoi County High School senior looks back to the past five years, and says he owes where he is now, to the storm.
His family moved from Long Beach, Mississippi. After Katrina, Baker didn't have school for two months. He moved from a shelter, to his grandmother's, to a FEMA trailer. On a vacation to the Tri-Cities, his family bought a cabin in Flag Pond.
Since his move, he's been active in many school clubs, teams, and activities. Thursday morning, he turned in his petition to run for senior class president.
"If it wasn't for Katrina, I don't know what I would be doing back in long beach," says Baker. "Honestly, this is all I've ever known from this point on. I really started living after Katrina."
Baker's whole family scattered to different areas in the county after the storm. He still keeps in touch with his long beach friends, but reflects back often, pleased with how his family has rebounded after the struggle.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement