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Gustav threatens those hardest hit by Katrina
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In neighboring Mississippi, Scott Sundberg and his wife, Caroline, are less than a month away from moving back into the house in Pass Christian that Katrina tore apart. With Gustav threatening, the Sundbergs were preparing to suspend the renovation project, tamp down stacks of building material, unhook their trailer home and drive east to safer ground.
A structural engineer, Sundberg built one of the few beachfront homes in Pass Christian that wasn't flattened by Katrina. They stayed at home for Katrina, but won't make the same mistake with Gustav.
When Katrina started to rip their home apart, the Sundbergs found refuge in a boat. They bobbed in Katrina's violent surge for several hours before the flood waters receded.
"We watched Katrina from the cockpit of a 19-foot sailboat," he said.
Sundberg has rebuilt much of his home by himself, but he still needed some expert help. With the Gulf Coast in the grips of a post-Katrina labor shortage, it has taken Sundberg three years to restore what Katrina damaged.
"That's why I'm so hesitant about dropping everything," he said.
So close to moving in
A paint job is all that's left for Rodger McRee to do before he and his wife can move into their new home in Waveland, Miss. They were living in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, when Katrina struck and flooded their home with two feet of water before a fire caused even more damage.
McRee regrets staying and not evacuating before Katrina hit.
"I don't recommend it," he said. "It was poor judgment."
But he doesn't regret building a new home only 300 yards from the same Mississippi Sound waters that erased most of Waveland on Aug. 29, 2005.
"That's what we do: We rebuild. That's the nature of mankind," he said. "To leave is not human nature."
Courtney Rich, 25, joined her husband and mother at her grandparents' home in Bay St. Louis, Miss., as Katrina approached. More than 20 feet of storm surge forced them to seek refuge on the roof for several hours.
"We won't be doing that again," she said, noting that the family had booked hotel rooms in Meridian, Miss., after Gustav formed. "Katrina was hell. There is a reason to have anxiety" if Gustav threatens.
Friday was not just the anniversary of Katrina. It was also Beth Basile's 52nd birthday.
Her older son surprised her with a cake topped with Oreo cookies. She was in no mood to celebrate but she choked down a piece to please her grandchildren.
St. Bernard Parish's levees have been largely rebuilt, but Basile has little faith in them. After all, the old ones were supposedly built to withstand a Category 3 storm.
After Katrina, Basile and her family spent "23 weeks and three days" in a Bossier City hotel room, some 340 miles northwest of New Orleans. She's not ready to do that again.
"It's GOTTA go west," she said, her voice cracking. "We've paid our dues as far as I'm concerned. I know it's selfish, but that's the way it is."
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