It's Hurricane Season

As a survivor of my fair share of hurricanes the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank attracted my attention.  As I have mentioned before I am from the east coast of Central Florida and my family and I have evacuated for several hurricanes.  

The website states on the About this Project tab they want to 'collect, preserve, and present the stories and digital record of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.’   The contributions that have been made, and the collections that have been established will help to tell not only Katrina and New Orleans’ story but the story of the smaller communities as well.   Communities like Vidor, Texas.      

Vidor Church of Christ

In April of 2009 I had the opportunity to go to Vidor Texas for Hurricane Relief.  Hurricane Rita hit Vidor in 2005.  I helped repair a house that had been sitting empty for almost 4 years.  The owners lived behind the house in a FEMA trailer.  When I pulled up the website I immediately searched for Vidor, Texas.  There is 338 items for Vidor.  Including a couple of pictures. 

I am not sure what marketing was used to drive contributors to this site.  What I did notice about Vidor is that a lot (not all) of the contributions are from either student or teachers point of view.  I did find it interesting how teenagers reacted to being uprooted from their home.   

I know that the damage in New Orleans was worse than in Vidor.  This website however allows people affected by Rita and others outside of New Orleans to tell their story as well.  I know from experience how agonizing it is to drive eight hours from your home and not know what will be there when you return.  Thankfully, not everyone knows what that is like.  This site helps preserve those experiences and to share what each of these communities went through.