Hurricane Katrina survivors reflect 20 years later

DURHAM, N.C. — Reading journal entries she wrote 20 years ago, Shawn Trimble is emotional as she remembers the impacts of Hurricane Katrina.  

“To even go back in time, sometimes it just it jogs a whole lot of memories I think for me,” Trimble said.

She flipped through pages of photo albums from a life before the storm in New Orleans, sorting through old letters and articles, as she and her two kids reflected on what happened in 2005 for the first time.

“We thought it was a hurricane. It was in the city. It was bad. But then it got worse,” Trimble said.

Trimble was the manager of a Sheraton hotel in the French Quarter at the time, and she vividly recalls the chaos.

“I remember, the first night, you know, it was like, ‘oh, we were on vacation, and there was so much food.’ And then the food started running out. I remember calling corporate during this time and I’m like, ‘yo, I’m watching the waters rise.’ And folks weren’t believing me. It was so bad, y’all,” Trimble said.  

Her daughter Sunshine and her son Joshua were 6 and 7 at the time and remember the confusion.

“I just remember, like, running around and still being amongst family. So I didn’t feel immediately like, unsafe. But I just was witnessing all of this stuff happening, and I couldn’t like process or grasp like what was going on because I was so young,” Sunshine Alvarez said.

“It was stressful time for me I guess,” Joshua Alvarez said.

They get emotional as they discuss the trauma and impacts of that deadly storm. They’re also grateful they are able to look back and realize how lucky they are to have gotten out. They drove from New Orleans to Hillsborough, North Carolina and over the years eventually settled down in Durham. 

“Somehow, we’re getting out, but these folks are still here. And it’s like that survivor’s guilt,” Trimble said.

Seeing the damage left behind by Helene, Trimble said she’s hyper aware of the weather and sometimes experiences PTSD. 

“Whenever there’s a storm, you know, I’m very aware that things can go south, so I’m more cognizant. I’m more, more honoring of Mother Nature, if you will,” Trimble said.

Trimble said they’re closer now as a family than ever before because of what they went through together.