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A Smith Alum's Brush With
Hurricane Katrina
When reports of Hurricane
Katrina's imminent approach on New Orleans and other Gulf
Coast areas circulated, Jessica Gerson ’05 knew what
to do, thanks to what she learned in a course at Smith. On
September 1, three days after Katrina left New Orleans residents
fighting for their lives, Gerson wrote the following letter
to Robert Burger, the Achilles Professor of Geology, to thank
him for his instruction.
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Through its new
emergency response program, , the United Way of Hampshire County,
in partnership with the American Red Cross-Hampshire
County Chapter and the Daily Hampshire Gazette,
is coordinating the .
Meanwhile, Smith's
athletics department seeks donations of school supplies
to send to victims of the hurricane. Donation boxes
are located in Ainsworth Gym at the equipment booth,
on the second floor near the athletics offices, and
at the entrance of Scott Gym.
Smith alumnae
in the Gulf Coast region are seeking information from
folks in the Smith community who may have been affected
by the hurricane and its aftermath. to obtain or provide information.
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Dear Bob,
Hi, it's Jessica Gerson from
your Natural Disasters class this past fall. I don't think
I ever mentioned this to you, but after graduating in May,
I moved down to New Orleans. Obviously, given the events of
the past week, I'm not there now--I'm currently on the road
with my roommate, our cats, and what little is left of our
belongings, on our way to my parents in Chicago. I wanted
to let you know that it's possible--probable, even--that your
class saved a number of lives, mine included, this weekend.
My friends in the city all went through the evacuation for
Ivan last year and were thus inclined to be skeptical of the
wisdom of evacuating for Katrina. Last year's evac of New
Orleans for Ivan was an utter disaster, only to have nothing
whatsoever happen to the city.
Having learned as much as I did
about hurricane formation, strength, destructive potential,
paths, etc, I was in a position to argue knowledgeably in
favor of leaving. In the end, all of the people in question
did evacuate, and we are very aware that we owe our lives
to our choice to get out. Mind you, it was close--my roommate
and I left New Orleans at 5am on Sunday morning, immediately
after we got off work at the hotel where we are (were?) employed.
We went about 6 miles in 7 hours on I-10 and finally gave
up and took the Causeway, a 27-mile bridge that spans Lake
Pontchartrain, in the hopes that it would be better. We got
caught on the bridge for several hours in the middle of the
lake, and were actually out there when the first rain band
of the storm came through. I've honestly never seen--or imagined--anything
quite like the fury of even the furthest edges of the storm.
It was very, very close, but
we managed to get out of Katrina's path in time, and we arrived
in Houston at about 6am Monday, 25 hours after we left New
Orleans. We are exhausted, devastated, frightened, overwhelmed--but
safe and alive. And for that, Bob, I thank you. Feel free
to share this with any future Natural Disasters classes, in
case anyone should ever say that there isn't much practical
use for the class. What I learned from you was, quite literally,
a lifesaver.
Fondly,
Jessica Gerson
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