Week #10 - Disasters - Hurricane Betsy

Week 10: Disasters. Did you experience any natural disasters in your lifetime? Tell us about them. If not, then discuss these events that happened to parents, grandparents or others in your family.

Thanks to our mom for the below post about Hurricane Betsy!

From 1963 to 1966 our family lived in New Orleans, LA and we experienced 3 Mardi Gras and 2 hurricanes. Those events were definitely the highlights of our 3 1/2 years in New Orleans. Hurricane Betsy made landfall on September 9, 1965. At the age of thirteen the hurricane was a big adventure. We had our batteries, water, and food that would not need refrigeration. We had a gas stove and hot water heater, so if our electricity went out, we still could cook and have hot water. The hurricane lasted all night and it sounded as if our little one story house would be blown down--but it was made of brick (those three little pigs had it right) and it made it through the storm. However, our trees and bushes around the house were not as fortunate. The two tall evergreens outside our front door collapsed onto each other making it impossible to get out the door. The tree in our front yard was uprooted and was leaning about 45 degrees to the right. Our dog spent the night under our car and was unharmed. As a kid, the best part of the storm was that we didn't have school for 9 or 10 days because it was that long before the electricity was restored. We played out in the street, took baths by candlelight and went to bed early because there wasn't much else to do. Even 46 years later I can still remember the power of that hurricane and how much damage it caused--the power of nature is quite impressive and not easy to forget.