It鈥檚 been two decades since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on August 29, 2005. The devastating Category 5 storm left widespread damage on the Gulf Coast, with some areas being demolished and never rebuilt. The New Orleans levee system failed, which lead to catastrophic flooding in the city, resulting in roughly 1,800 fatalities and nearly $108 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane in U.S. History, according to the National Weather Service.
Sprint Unit Paramedic Captain Keeley Williams-Johnson, a 25-year veteran of New Orleans EMS, who appeared in 45 episodes of the A&E television series 鈥淣ightwatch,鈥� airing from 2015-2022, spoke with me about her experience with the catastrophic storm that ravaged the city she loves.
Williams-Johnson had been employed with New Orleans EMS for 5 years when Hurricane Katrina roared a shore.
鈥淚nitially, we really weren鈥檛 concerned with it,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 forecasted to affect us.鈥�
In the week leading up to the storm, the EMS World Expo was hosted in New Orleans.
鈥淭he whole week, we were entertaining EMS (professionals) from around the world,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淎t the end of the conference, we were having a drink, and I
remember someone running around with a weather update. I just kind of laughed it off.鈥�
鈥業t got serious鈥�
New Orleans EMS conducted a mandatory activation for all staff in the coming days.
鈥淲e were supposed to show up with 5 days of uniforms, food and water 鈥� be prepared to be at work for a handful of days,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. It was during the morning meeting that members began to realize this storm could be catastrophic. 鈥淚t got serious,鈥� Williams-Johnson said.
At the end of the meeting, staff held hands and said prayers before the crews relocated to their designated areas.
鈥淚 was assigned to New Orleans East. Two ambulances, an EMS supervisor and New Orleans Fire Department Engine 36 were assigned to the Bellsouth Building,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淲e ran our last call between 9 or 10 p.m. before the winds picked up and we couldn鈥檛 safely respond to calls.鈥�
Overnight, communications went down, and crews located in New Orleans East had no contact with anyone in the city. Williams-Johnson added that they had no idea what was going on in other parts of the city. It wasn鈥檛 uncommon for minor flooding to occur in this portion of town, but Williams-Johnson and her team knew something was different.
鈥淚t started flooding like never before. The water never stopped rising 鈥� I think what was a [little] tornado came through,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淚t was the loudest noise I have ever heard.鈥� The wind was screaming and blew the backside of the building out.
Initial rescues
As day broke and Williams-Johnson could see outside, cars were floating in the parking lot. Across the street, the water was as high as the Walmart letters on the side of the store.
鈥淲e had no idea that the rest of the city had flooded, and we still had no communication with anyone,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淎fter the winds calmed down, we went into rescue mode.鈥�
Both EMS transport units and the supervisor unit were underwater. Working with the fire department personnel, using jets skies and boats, Williams-Johnson got on a boat with her ALS gear to provide aid, responding to a nearby motel with people stranded on the second-floor balcony. They were then informed about a pregnant woman behind the nearby McDonald鈥檚. 鈥淭his lady was very, very pregnant,鈥� Williams-Johnson said.
As they were leaving the neighborhood, they discovered a man laying on the hood of a floating car. The female patient knew the man and shared that he was a diabetic.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to leave him there,鈥� Williams-Johnson recalled. They got the male on the boat and continued to the former Methodist Hospital.
鈥淲hen we arrived at the hospital they said, 鈥榶ou can鈥檛 bring anyone here.鈥� The first floor of the hospital was flooded, and they were having problems with their generators,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淲e carried the patients up flights of stairs. These were the last two patients brought to Methodist Hospital.鈥�
Recognizing the extent of the emergency
The teams realized they weren鈥檛 going to be able to rescue anyone. They returned to their original post.
鈥淲e had no idea what was going to happen to us. It was frightening,鈥� said Williams-Johnson. 鈥淭he days started running together. At some point and time, we were able to get a channel on the radio. They arranged for a military helicopter to fly out and get us.鈥�
The crews took a boat to the I-10 East and Read Blvd. intersection, where the helicopter landed on the interstate overpass. Williams-Johnson said that the six crew members boarded the helicopter with what little gear they had left. As the helicopter lifted from the overpass and the crews could finally see the devastation, they realized the entire city was flooded, not just East New Orleans.
鈥淵ou know how loud a helicopter is without ear protection, but it was the quietest moment in my life 鈥� all I saw was the entire city flooded,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淎ll of us sat there with tears running down our faces in complete shock.鈥�
The helicopter took the crew to the Superdome.
鈥淲hen they rescued us and flew us into the dome 鈥� the stories that you hear about the Superdome are true. We had to leave the Superdome. It wasn鈥檛 safe for us to stay there,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淲e ended up walking across the Mississippi River Bridge at night. We knew if we got to the west bank, we would be safe.鈥�
Approximately 50 New Orleans EMS personnel made it safely to the west bank but were stranded on the bridge with nowhere to go. A firefighter drove by in a truck and quickly returned with reinforcements.
鈥淭he fire department picked all of us up and took us to a nursing home that they had been using,鈥� Williams-Johnson said.
The following weekend, we spent days landing two or three helicopters at a time and then moving people by any means possible, including carrying, pushing in wheelchairs and laundry carts to the military helicopters where they were relocated to safer locations, Williams-Johnson reported.
The morning after the storm, the sun was shining, and Williams-Johnson鈥檚 neighbors were out picking up sticks and debris in the Ninth Ward, where she lived at the time and had lost a few shingles on her home.
But then the barge broke loose and broke through one of the levees, Williams-Johnson鈥檚 neighbors told her it was like a wave of water coming down the street. 鈥淢y house went from minor damage to having 10 feet of water in it,鈥� Williams-Johnson said.
She was at work for two weeks straight.
Katrina: Looking back
Williams-Johnson admits that she thinks about Hurricane Katrina daily while driving to and from work.
鈥淚 have to drive through the Lower Ninth Ward to get to work. I just shake my head. To this day, there are so many empty lots. It used to be house after house after house. Now it鈥檚 just a shell,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淵ou may see an abandoned house with overgrown grass and weeds and wonder what happened to the people that lived there. And then you come to an empty lot with stairs that lead to nowhere.鈥�
Williams-Johnson had always wanted to be a paramedic and work for the New Orleans Health Department. 鈥淚 grew up in New Orleans, it鈥檚 my home,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. I spent my entire childhood in New Orleans. I love the service, the people and the job and I wanted to stay and take care of the city I loved.鈥�
Williams-Johnson鈥檚 final thoughts include a message to those in the path of extreme weather. 鈥淲hen they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Get your family out,鈥� Williams-Johnson said. 鈥淔or the people that stay, be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.鈥�
