State and City leaders attend Hurricane Katrina memorial in Gulfport
Eighteen years ago on this date, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was changed forever.
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and many wondered how the Gulf Coast was going to respond and recover.
Governor Tate Reeves, Senator Roger Wicker, and several mayors from various Coast cities met at the Mississippi Aquarium this morning to honor and remember the lives lost and express gratitude to those who lent a helping hand.
Governor Reeves says this is a time to mourn, but it’s also a time to celebrate because of how far the Coast has come since and the unity that has taken place because of it. “Obviously I talked a lot today about certainly remembering our losses and memorializing those who made the ultimate sacrifice during Hurricane Katrina, but also celebrating the future and celebrating the fact that local government officials and state government officials and federal officials came together to reinvest and rebuild and revitalize this beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes said, “The past has formed us, but it also informs us for the future and we’re always forward looking and I think a lot of folks would have bet against us, you know, coming this far in the last 18 years after the absolute destruction that was visited upon this coast and right where we stand is that phoenix from the ashes here, so we’ve got the aquarium which is a great asset to the state and this new bridge that is so symbolic as far as how we connect and how we are collaborative.”
Many more projects are to come for the Gulf Coast in hopes of continuing to rebuild it better than it was before.
