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September 13, 2005
Professor’s relatives and friends weathered Katrina
Editor in Chief
Just across the road from Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana, six members of Hamline professor Dwight Watson’s extended family steadfastly waited out the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. Luckily, they all survived.
As told by Watson, this is their “harrowing and heroic” story.
The six were all doing fine until the levee broke, Watson said. Soon, floodwaters covered their house in 15 feet of water. They were trapped in their attic, with only marginal provisions.
Herb and Janie Francis, their daughter Tia, 23, and her 7-month-old child were up in the attic. In addition,
Rochelle Watson, Professor Watson’s niece, and her son Samaj were with them. The family had opted to wait out the storm.
“That was the wrong thing to do,” Professor Watson said.
The family had prepared for the storm by gathering tuna, chips and water and bringing them to the attic, hoping that there would be enough supplies. When the levee broke on Monday, August 29, the group was forced into their attic. There they stayed through the cold, dark night.
Sometime on Tuesday, their supplies ran out. That same day, Mr. Francis left the attic to get help. He swam out to find refuge. “In tenuous situations, [humans] switch into survival mode,” Watson said.
He swam until he could stand chest deep in the murky water. Watson said it was dangerous to wade without knowledge of the bottom, but Mr. Francis reached Lake Pontchartrain safely.
After searching for a seaworthy vessel among numerous shipwrecked boats, he found a boat. He brought the boat back to his home and shuttled his family to dry land. Beside the clothes on their backs, they carried whatever valuables and clothes they could fit into plastic bags.
From land, the family walked to New Orleans proper and were picked up by a truck. The driver shuttled them to the Superdome, which was already “gripped by corruption and chaos,” Watson said.
Instead of staying there, the six opted to take a bus to Houston, TX. There, they used their credit and ATM cards to secure a hotel room. From their room, they called Professor Watson’s brother, Charles Watson Jr., who lives in Austin, TX. Charles rented a van, and headed to Houston. After a rendezvous with Francis and his family, Charles brought them back to Austin, where they are currently residing.
The family must replace everything. “There’s nothing in New Orleans for them,” Professor Watson said.
Watson has asked his friends to donate $25 gift certificates for his family to replace their belongings.
Samaj needs school supplies. He is in the 6th grade. His mother Rochelle is continuing work on her radiology degree. Although her college in Louisiana was flooded, she was accepted into an affiliate college in Austin. Professor Watson said he was unaware of the names of the two institutions.
Mr. and Mrs. Francis are heading to Shreveport, where they plan to eventually retire.
“We are prayerful people, and through the grace of God they survived,” Professor Watson said. “This could have easily been something [even] more nightmarish.”
Posted by msveum at September 13, 2005 11:27 AM