![]() I remember thinking all of his stuff will be ruined, and he\'ll get to buy an entire new wardrobe, which made me mad. Tom didn\'t remove anything of his he was only concerned with getting the cash he had hidden in his suit pocket. Suddenly, we heard the roof coming off of the house, and Tom said, \"I think it\'s the roof over our closet.\" We raced up the stairs and moved all of my clothes out of the closet and on to our bed. Tom and I were running around frantically getting towels so we could soak up the water trying desperately to save our beautiful Brazilian wood floors and imported furniture. ![]() From then on things went from bad to worse, and the rain was coming in through the light fixtures, air condition vents, and even through the seams of the windows. I remember thinking this can\'t be real it must be a dream. I had no idea of the wind speed but it must have been very high to blow those heavy vehicles into the water. By nine o\'clock the winds were blowing significantly harder, and we watched helplessly as our neighbor\'s Cadillac, my Mercedes and my husband\'s Hummer blew one by one into the bayou across the street. We stayed on the second floor because we had a better view of the storm. Both of us were constantly on our cell phones with our friends and family keeping them updated on the situation. \r\n \r\nWe woke up early Monday morning and the wind was blowing hard, and debris was flying everywhere however, we did not feel we were in any grave danger. Possibly if we had things might have turned out differently for us. It was late when we finished and we went to bed without watching the news. We took all the necessary precautions for the storm, removed all of our lawn furniture, plants and anything else in the yard that could fly around and cause damage. His logic made sense, and I knew we had a generator large enough to run the entire house, so I agreed to stay. \r\n \r\n Another reason we stayed was Tom\'s certainty that even if the first floor flooded and the roof came off we would be safe on the second floor. Little did I know that it would be the last party we would ever have in our beautiful home. Although the attendance was well below what we expected, it was a great party, and everyone had a good time. I couldn\'t understand why people were leaving even if they wanted to evacuate, why they were leaving so soon? Many used the excuse that they were afraid if they came they wouldn\'t be able to make it home because of the contra-flow. Around three hundred people were expected to attend however, when we woke on Saturday morning the phone started ringing, and people began canceling because of the storm. One reason was a party we planed at our home on Saturday August 27th, for our son James, and his fiancee Ronda to celebrate their up coming wedding. \r\n \r\nWe justified staying for a number of reasons, all of which seem senseless now. The raging winds and ferocious water were relentless as they battered our home and took with it a life time of memorabilia and many irreplaceable items which meant so much to us. ![]() Not only because it was a horrifying experience that nearly cost us our lives but also because we witnessed first hand the destruction of our home and loss of every single possession we owned. The decision to stay is one we will regret for the rest of our lives. ![]() Unfortunately, we stayed and weathered the storm. Therefore, I should have known better and insisted that my husband Tom and I evacuate our beautiful three story home on Lake Pontchartrain. Elizabeth Ashe Havrilla\r\nJanuary 21, 2008\r\n EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE STORM SURGE\r\n \r\nHaving lived in New Orleans all my life, I was well aware of the catastrophic damage a dangerous storm is capable of and remember quite vividly the devastation caused by Hurricane Camille in 1968.
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