Miss. Coast Residents Must Decide to Stay or Leave

By Amanda Creel
The Mississippi Press

PASCAGOULA — For the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the decision to rebuild or to start over elsewhere is one of the first steps to recovery.

In the aftermath of the Aug. 29 Category 4 storm, some have come to the realization that another hurricane would be more than they could bear.

Charles and Mary Hamblin rode out much of Hurricane Katrina on their roof, and predictions that hurricanes will intensify and be more common in the future sealed the deal.

"It doesn't seem like there is anything here for us," Mary Hamblin said. "Everything we have kind of built our lives on is gone."

The couple returned to their shell of a home in Porteaux Bay to salvage what they could and travel to what they hope will be a new home in Texas.

"We went from having 1,700-square-feet of a fully furnished house to a truckload of stuff," Mary Hamblin said.

"It's a small truck at that. It's not even our truck. We borrowed it," Charles Hamblin said.

This is not the first time that a hurricane has chased the couple from a home on the Gulf Coast. The couple relocated from Pensacola to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in June after Hurricane Ivan devastated the Florida Panhandle.

"We love Mississippi. It's beautiful. I love the weather. It's laid back and it's not too fast," Charles Hamblin said. "This was perfect, without the hurricanes."

Although many families are moving to new areas, more than 95 percent of Mississippi families are planning to return or have already returned to their homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, according to a Gallup poll conducted last week," said Pete Smith, a spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour.

The other five percent have either not reached a decision about where they will call home or have already relocated temporarily or permanently, Smith said. For many others, however, moving a few miles from the Coast is all they need to feel more secure.

For John and Angel Fox, the decision to stay on the Coast was an easy one. But the couple decided not to rebuild their waterfront home in Langley Point.

"We are going to stay in the area, but we are not going to stay at 150 feet away from the water," said John Fox. "We are going to build inland, where it is a little higher and drier."

John Fox said moving his family was easier than others because after 26 years in the military he has learned to be mobile. "We like the area, we like the people, and we love being in the South," said John Fox. "We love the climate, too, but don't care to see another storm."

The couple has already made an offer on a home north of Interstate 10 and describe it as the perfect combination of both of their personalities.

"It is kind of scary. Because you are still making house payments on a house that is gone, and you are stepping out and buying another home," John Fox said.

The couple's home was reduced to a slab, leaving little to salvage as they pick up and start over inland. "This will be the easiest move we'll ever make," said Angel Fox, who added that they wouldn't even need a moving truck this time.

For some residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the decision to relocate was a necessary evil to find employment. Scott Barnett was one of the thousands of casino workers who lost a job because of Hurricane Katrina and is moving to other big gaming cities.

Lynn and Scott Barnett have placed their home on the market as they prepared to make the big move to Las Vegas. Lynn Barnett said she can't complain about the move because she still has a house to move. "I hope we like it there, but I don't know," said Lynn Barnett. "But, if I never see another Hurricane again it will be OK with me."