Asst. Chief Smith told us that as a tradition, at the start of each hurricane season or before a major storm, they would spend a few hours out and about in their district, taking photos of structures and areas that might be damaged. After the storm, they would go out again and take the same photos from the same vantage points.
They did this on August 28, the day before Katrina made landfall. What an odd feeling that must have been, knowing that perhaps things would never be the same again...
The walls at Station 1 are plastered with these photos, and for those of us who were not from around there, it gave us an opportunity to see what a beautiful town Waveland once was.
Asst. Chief Smith was generous enough to provide me with many of the photos they took before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. As I went through them, I was able to match up a few of his shots to a few of the photos I took during our visit. The before-and-after comparisons are mind-boggling.
The town had just recently built this wonderful pier, complete with gazebos and a memorial park.
Here is the skeleton of that same pier.
Waveland's City Hall on its last day in existence
The front steps and concrete slab are the only evidence that a building was ever here
One of the local establishments
They've come back, but it may be awhile before they can start having Ladies Night again
This beach house was boarded up in preparation for the storm
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as everything but the frame was swept away
