Katrina memories echo strong with KIRO reporter

Hurricane Isaac’s assault on the Gulf Coast comes seven years to the day Hurricane Katrina battered the region, ravaging New Orleans and surrounding cities and towns.

It’s bringing back strong memories for KIRO’s Chris Sullivan, who covered the devastation in the difficult days that followed.

“The first thing I thought this morning was, here we go again, when I saw reports that a levee had been breached in Plaquamines Parish south of New Orleans,” Sullivan said.

Fortunately, those reports were incorrect. The storm surge had only washed water over the levees.

Sullivan says his most vivid memories include his initial drive into New Orleans, the entire area in darkness.

Teamed with other reporters and engineers from sister stations, Sullivan traveled in an RV with $10,000 in cash and several handguns to protect it.

“Another thing I’ll never forget is flying over the lower ninth Ward in a National Guard helicopter and seeing all the houses under 18 feet of water and seeing all the holes cut into the roofs when people had to saw their way to freedom from the rushing flood waters,” he said.

Listen to KIRO’s Chris Sullivan recount his experiences covering Hurricane Katrina

Talk hosts Ron and Don were working in New Orleans at the time Katrina struck. They say that Isaac’s approach toward the Gulf Coast should not be taken lightly.

Listen to Why Isaac shouldn’t be taken lightly