My family and I live in River Ridge and evacuated to Destin, Florida for Katrina. On our way to Destin, we were driving through the outer bands of Katrina. At that moment, it hit hard that Katrina was about to destroy our city. We were glued to the television waiting to hear news on what was going on. When we learned how the levees broke and the city was flooding we were so devastated. We had family and friends who had stayed behind to ride out the storm and we were so worried for them all. When our stay at the hotel in Destin was over, we began our travel to Arkansas to stay with some friends for a while until we were allowed back into the city. Because of the long drive, we stopped in Huntsville, Alabama to spend the night with family. The next morning, we headed for Arkansas. We stayed with some friends there for about a week until we were allowed back into the city. We came back to our house to check on its condition. We only got a few inches of water, but the mold grew almost all the way up the walls. Our house also sank into the soil from all the flooding causing the walls and ceilings of our house to crack making it unsafe to live in. We cleaned up what we could outside and inside the house and gathered all our belongings. My family and I rented out a house in Houma, Louisiana until my grandsparents\' house was rebuilt, we received a fema trailor, and my high school re-opened. Once my high school re-opened, I moved into my sister\'s house who\'s house was not damaged by the storm, so I could return to my school. My parents had to stay in Houma to take care of my grandparents until there house was complete. I lived away from my parents for months. It was so difficult to not see them, we only had a chance to visit one another about once a week, and that just wasn\'t enough. Finally, my grandparents\' house was rebuilt and our fema trailor came in. So my parents were able to move back home and we were together again. Ever since the day the storm hit, my dad began putting together an organization called Operation Nehemiah to help the people of New Orleans rebuild their homes. He has been completely devoted to that organization ever since, helping people all over the city. Although I was affected by the storm, I wasn\'t nearly affected like my other friends and family and even the so many other people in the city who lost everything. My deepest sympathy goes out to them all.