*On Covering Hurricanes "K-I-M..." (Katrina, Irene, Mitch.)

NEWBURGH, NY. A woman examines debris onshore near The River Rose, and original paddle-wheel boat moored along the flooded Hudson River waterfront in Newburgh, NY on Sunday, August 28, 2011. Hurricane Irene knocked out power from South Carolina to Maine, and parts of New York State saw more than a foot of rain. © Chet Gordon/THE IMAGE WORKS

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS. A young boy pauses near a car covered with debris along the bank of the Rio Choluteca (Choluteca River) under the El Chile Bridge in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Saturday, November 7, 1998. Hurricane Mitch left upwards of 11,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the rest of Central America. Floods and mudslides have leveled houses, buried villages and washed out major roadways and bridges, cutting off the northern and southern regions of Honduras. © Chet Gordon/THE IMAGE WORKS

NEW ORLEANS, LA. Destroyed homes in the Lower 9th. Ward of New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, June 28, 2006. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf states 10 months ago. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

Venturing around town this afternoon to make a few images of the rising Hudson River (top image) and early damage caused by Hurricane Irene, got me thinking of my past work at Hurricanes Katrina in June 2006 along the Gulf Coast and Mitch, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras back in 1998. Clearly Mitch was the most destructive of all hurricanes that I've seen to this day. Katrina's numbers were devastating just as equally, but more so in terms of displaced, uprooted survivors, and sheer property damage in the Gulf States. And Irene these last few days...? I think the jury is still out on this one. Following are a few more archived images to sort of serve as a reminder of what severe hurricane damage looks like and the unforgivable destructive forces they bring... ~cg.

(3) MITCH. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. November 1998.

KATRINA. New Orleans, LA June 2006.

KATRINA. Gulfport, Mississippi. June 2006.

(2) KATRINA. Biloxi, Mississippi. June 2006.

(2) IRENE. Newburgh, NY. August 2011.

"Katrina. 5 Years On..."

This week marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It's good to see that an old client of mine, AmeriCares is still getting good mileage out of an image I made while working for them in the Gulf states back in the summer of 2006, some 10 months after the hurricane. This image was actually used in a calendar of theirs, as well as other printed materials, and has appeared on their website quite regularly. ~cg.

MOSS POINT, MS. Hurricane Katrina survivor Yaleca Shelby (25) with her daughter Karima (18 months) at a FEMA trailer park on the grounds of the Calling All Christians Church in Moss Point, MS on Monday, June 26, 2006. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

A few more images made during my week spent in the Gulf states back then. The damage and widespread destruction spread much further than just the New Orleans delta area. It all reminded me of the earthquakes I'd seen throughout my career.

(An edited take from my week in the Gulf can be viewed HERE, and is viewed rather nicely as a full-screen slide show by clicking the "Slideshow" button in the upper right of the page.)

NEW ORLEANS, LA. Destroyed homes in the Lower 9th. Ward of New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, June 28, 2006. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf states 10 months ago. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS
*(This image also appeared in BusinessWeek Magazine.)

BILOXI, MS. Causeway Route 90 bridge between Biloxi and Gulfport, MS destroyed by Hurricane Katrina seen on Monday, June 26, 2006. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf states 10 months ago. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

GULFPORT, MS. Storm damaged First Baptist Church is demolished in Gulfport, MS on Tuesday, June 27, 2006. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf states 10 months ago. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

BILOXI, MS. Storm damaged McDonald's sign in Biloxi, MS on Tuesday, June 27, 2006. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf states 10 months ago. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

This photo has "grown legs..." July 2009

An image of mine I made back in 2006 in the Gulf Coast appears on client AmeriCares website. I'd toured the New Orleans area, as well as into Mississippi during the week I spent shooting for them back in June 2006, ten months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast states.
An image from that brief stop in a FEMA trailer compound in Moss Point, MS was also used by AmeriCares on a calendar they produced a few years ago as well.

Gotta find that calendar... -cg.