Hundreds gather for New Orleans second line parade to mark 17 years since Hurricane Katrina
Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and caused over $100 billion in damage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hundreds joined in on a New Orleans second line parade on Monday to mark 17 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.
Second lines are parades that anyone is welcome to join and walk alongside. Many people at the event shared stories of how they survived the 2005 storm. Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and caused more than $100 billion worth of damage in the city.
"My granddaughter died. She was washed away," Robert Green told WDSU. "My grandmother literally did what they call a dry drowning. We were not expecting 25 feet of water to come through. We were not expecting having to go through the attic and on top the roof."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are not stuck in the past. We have to realize we have to move forward. I have 14 grandkids and 4 great-grandkids. We have to look at what the future holds for them," he added.
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Emanuel Honeycutt is followed by his son Emanuel Jr., 11, as he carries his daughter Eman, 9, through floodwaters in the French Quarter of New Orleans. (AP)
"Hurricane Katrina was one of the most important things to happen in New Orleans. So many things were changed when it comes to New Orleans and the structure of community. Government. Family," said Sess 4-5, a local rapper who organized the event.
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The event comes as other parts of the U.S. are experiencing extreme flooding. The death toll from flooding in Kentucky hit 39 in mid-August.
Mississippi officials are also warning residents to vacate their homes near the Pearl River.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A couple of pickup trucks creep through floodwaters in Richland, Mississippi, following a morning of torrential rains, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. Heavy rains and flash flooding prompted rescue operations, closures and evacuations in the central part of the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
"If you are capable of getting out now, get out now," Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at a news conference Saturday.
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The Pearl River is expected to crest at 35.5 feet, just shy of the major flood stage level of 36 feet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.