Mississippi rising

Published on Tuesday 19 February 2008 14:09

IT WAS FIVE days after Hurricane Katrina before Rob Stinson could find the courage to return to his seafront restaurant on Mississippi's Gulf Coast.

It was a business his family had invested time and money in. He feared massive damage. He found total devastation.

Where his restaurant once stood was nothing but a concrete plinth. He looked around in shock – it had gone, all of it. Not a fork or plate. Not a chair or table. Not even a fragment of the restaurant's sign, "Long Beach Lookout". All had disappeared, wiped out by a storm that was the worst natural disaster in US history.

"My kids insisted we go down there," Stinson recalls. "It was so hard to stomach."

All along the Mississippi Gulf Coast the scars of Hurricane Katrina are etched upon the landscape. Historic homes dating from the 18th century were prised from their foundations and swept into the sea. Entire hotels were found on the opposite side of the highway from where they were built. Golf courses were submerged by seawater.

Along Highway 49, which runs parallel to the beach on the Gulf Coast, the twisted remains of century-old oak trees, sheared off almost to the stump, are impossible to miss. Signs advertise businesses that no longer exist, while concrete slabs are all that remain of family homes. Emergency trailers dot the landscape, housing thousands waiting for insurance money to rebuild.

Stinson's own house in the town of Long Beach was badly damaged. "We had damage to the roof, the walls, the floors, but we still had three other families living with us – that's how bad it was for other people," he says.

The hurricane on 29 August 2005 affected four states: Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Perhaps understandably, the devastation of New Orleans, where the levees broke, grabbed the media's attention. But this meant that towns along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, such as Gulfport and Biloxi, were left in the shadows, both domestically and internationally.

Mississippi, however, arguably had the worst of it. It was here that Hurricane Katrina struck landfall, with winds in excess of 150mph and the surge of water 35ft high at its peak. The eye wall of the hurricane was 29 miles wide. In all, 209 people were killed in the Magnolia State. "We weren't just flooded, we were blown away and then flooded," says Rick Carter, co-owner of the Island View casino resort in Gulfport.

In total, 65,000 buildings were destroyed and another 185,000 damaged. Overnight, the Gulf Coast's count of 18,000 hotel rooms was reduced to 3,500. Power cuts affected half the state and the army had to drop military rations by helicopter because people did not have basic supplies of food, water, warm clothes and nappies. The damage amounted to 125 billion (64bn). "People up north have no understanding of how bad it was," says Stinson.

To people here the word hurricane is superfluous. They refer to it simply as Katrina, as if Katrina has become someone they know, fear and respect.

To visit the Mississippi coast, as it recovers from this cataclysm is an unusual but hugely rewarding experience. Almost all of those who lived here were affected in some way. Relatives were lost, homes, jobs – normality was gone. Locals expect questions about Katrina, about the physical and psychological damage, but one still has the sense of intruding on grief. "No matter where you work in this area, you will find that about 20 per cent of people lost everything," says Janice Jones, media relations manager of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Yet there are many signs of resilience. On a seafront property that has only one wall standing, a freshly laundered US flag flutters defiantly. On another local property hangs the handwritten sign: "Katrina was strong but God is stronger."

Mississippi clearly wants people to come and visit. The most obvious symbol of renewal is in the casinos, which dominate the rebuilding along the seafront. Gaming is banned in large parts of the US and thus Mississippi draws in people from across the country who want to gamble Las Vegas-style. New laws brought in following Katrina make it possible to build casinos on land (previously they had to be on water), which has made it easier and cheaper to build large-scale resorts.

Along with golf (see panel), casinos have been driving recovery. Thousands of jobs have been created in the building and operation of the new casinos, and they help to support other businesses. There are now 11 casinos in the area offering 24-hour gaming. The taxes that both state and local government derive from these operations has been crucial in helping Mississippi get back on its feet. "Casinos are the economic engine for the regeneration of the area," says Janet Leach of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Two of the biggest names are the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, its giant Peavey guitar reaching into the sky a symbol of regeneration; and the Beau Rivage, owned by MGM Mirage and built in the image of the world-famous Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. It has 1,740 rooms and seven restaurants.

But quite apart from golf and gambling, the Gulf Coast is a beautiful place to be: great climate; watersports; good nightlife; lovely beaches; and just a 90-minute drive from New Orleans, if you want a taste of the city.

Next year, a 35m (18m) attraction called Infinity opens at the Nasa Stennis Space Center, aiming to transport visitors from the bottom of the ocean to the far reaches of the universe.

Charter fishing is also a huge draw, with more than 40 vessels ready to take visitors to the Gulf to catch the "Big one". Mississippi, furthermore, boasts the slogan "Birthplace of America's music". Aside from terrific live music across the state, it is also the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

There is a spirit about Mississippians that makes this a great time to visit. There are good value hotels, some of the best and cheapest golf in the world, and the added bonus of witnessing a community drag itself back from disaster. It is uplifting.

Rob Stinson embodies that spirit. After Katrina, he admits, he thought about leaving the area for good. "I did think of moving away, but then my staff started showing up and asking, what are we going to do?" Despite protests from his wife, who was reluctant for him to go back into business, Stinson launched a new eatery, Lookout 49, on another site on 1 October 2005 – just 33 days after Katrina.

"When we opened up at 11am there would be a line-up around the building, across the parking lot and into the K-Mart next door," he recalls. "It was incredible. There were 400 to 500 people waiting outside. When people came in they were crying. "People told us this (eating together] ... was the only face that made them feel as though things were normal. The numbers stayed that way for the next couple on months. We were doing 2,000 people a day with a full menu."

As for Stinson's original restaurant, he has plans to rebuild, despite the possibility it could be wiped out by another hurricane. "I own the lease on the site, so we will definitely rebuild. It's an economic necessity. But I also have faith in this place. There's no doubt in my mind the areas will come back stronger than ever."

Factfile Mississippi

How to get there

Delta fly non-stop to Atlanta from Edinburgh between 2 June and 1 October. Frequent connecting flights, which take 80 minutes, are available from Atlanta to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. Prices start from around 500 return. Visit www.delta.com

Where to stay

Palace Casino Resort, 154 Howard Avenue, Biloxi. 236 rooms with prices from 69 (35) per room per night. Visit www.palacecasinoresort.com

Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, 875 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi. Rooms from 95 (48). Visit www.beaurivage.com

The Father Ryan House Bed & Breakfast Inn, 1196 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi. This recently completed 550 million (280m) post-Katrina renovation has rooms for 117-175 (60-89) per night. Visit www.fatherryanhouse.com

and there's more

For more about the state, visit www.visitmississippi.org

Scotsman Reader Holidays have various trips to North America. Visit www.holidays.scotsman.com for details.