Bill Karins, Meteorologist

Two years ago from right now, (3:00pm) I was standing at the NBC News Desk waiting for our NBC News Helicopter to take off for a survey of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. I had a pit in my stomach just from the anticipation of the destruction soon to be seen. At this time, we knew the storm surge flooding was very bad on the Gulf Coast but in the City of New Orleans no levee flooding was reported yet. As the helicopter started to show live pictures, I ran out to the set. MSNBC was asking me to comment on the live pictures of destruction along with anchor Joe Scarborough.

For the first hour the pictures were all from New Orleans showing the blown out windows in downtown and the flooding off of Lake Ponchartrain. The damage was impressive but not “Oh my God” type pictures. It looked very much just like the damage we had seen from Charlie, Ivan, Jeanne and Francis. At one point Joe asked me if I thought we would find worse damage anywhere else. I told him that I was waiting for the pictures from Coastal Mississippi. I expected the small towns along the coast took the brunt of Katrina’s wind and storm surge.

Right on cue, the helicopter started heading northwest along the Louisiana Coast. My first “Oh My God” moment happened when the helicopter flew over a large lake. In the middle of the lake was 200-300 cows standing bunched together on a small island. The problem, we weren’t looking at a lake, this used to be a farm! Over the next hour the pictures of destroyed homes got worse and worse until the helicopter’s camera went out of range.

I went to bed that night knowing that we hadn’t seen the worst. All I knew is that the U.S. Marines where using amphibious vehicles to reach the stranded on the Mississippi Coast. I pictured people standing in water, drenched, in complete darkness waiting for help. I said a quick prayer. It wouldn’t be until sun up the next day (Tuesday) that the first aerial pictures of a destroyed Mississippi coast would show the world the true horror of Katrina’s storm surge. The high water mark was in Pass Christian at 28 feet. The next time you go to the beach look for a three-story building. This building would have been underwater.

I’m talking a lot about the record storm surge because it still hasn’t gotten the attention it deserved. Most people never saw the Tuesday early morning pictures of Mississippi and for good reason. When everyone woke up Tuesday morning, we learned New Orleans was underwater. The levees had actually given way sometime Monday afternoon but with no power, cell phones and vehicle traffic impossible, the breach was spread by word of mouth. A government report shows that the Department of Homeland Security in Louisiana actually knew of the flooding as early as 6pm Monday. All of the major news networks reported the flooding after midnight.

I’m sure you remember the rest. Katrina was a once in 200-300 year storm. I’d make a very large wager that we will not see a storm of this magnitude in any of our lifetimes. That is not a statement I make lightly. I will on the other hand say the following at least a few times, “This is the worst storm since Katrina.” From a science perspective I feel fortunate to have been here to forecast, study and warn of Katrina’s dangers but from a humanity perspective I hope the likes of Katrina never happens again.