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HURRICANE AUDREY An excerpt from the book HURRICANE AUDREY by Nola Mae Ross On June 27, 1957, a hurricane named Audrey came barreling across the Gulf of Mexico, forever changing the lives of Cameron Parish residents. It was a Category Four Hurricane, the first hurricane in the memory of the very oldest Gulf Coast residents - or even in legends handed down from generation to generation - when water of such magnitude covered Cameron Parish. Nothing in anyone's experience, knowledge or imagination, prepared them for the deadly tidal surge and 30 foot high waves that rushed over those unsuspecting people on June 27, 1957. And ever since that day, the people of Cameron Parish have gauged every big event in their lives as occurring "Before Audrey", or "After Audrey". The birth of a child, the death of a loved one, the purchase of a home; everything happened before or after Audrey. BA or AA. Over 425 residents lost their lives, 154 of whom were babies and children under the age of nine. Every home in Cameron, Creole, Oak Grove, the Cheniers and Pecan Island was either completely destroyed or sustained major damage. And the emotional misery caused by Audrey, even though immeasurable, reached the ultimate in human suffering. The goal of this book has been recorded the stories told by the people who were there and who lost family members in that holocaust. It is the story of terrible damage inflicted upon the human body as well as on the human spirit. And it is an overcoming story - a story of courage, of people who, after immeasurable suffering were able to bounce back and make a new life for themselves. As the families of those 425 victims told their stories and talked about the tragedies they suffered, I became so emotionally involved that I could hardly write their stories. It was a very humbling experience, knowing I could never understand the mysteries of that great tragedy. It has been hard for me to find adequate words to express their heart-wrenching emotions and to present their stories in a sensitive, gracious manner. My reward has been in knowing, that 40 years after that terrible experience, Hurricane Audrey survivors have at last had the chance to tell in their words, the true story of what happened to them on June 27, 1957. Want
to read more ? Why not purchase a copy of the book?
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