Camille Vs. Katrina: Comparing Storms On Their August Anniversaries

Hurricanes Camille and Katrina were as different as night and day, yet those who lived through both storms say the two were similar in many ways.

Saturday, Aug. 17 is the 50th anniversary of Camille and Aug. 29 will be 14 years since Katrina.

“Camille was a Sunday Storm,” said Rupert Lacy, now emergency management director for Harrison County. He was going on 11 and recalls going to church with his family in Gulfport the day before Camille.

They made a stop at Shipley Donuts, as was their Sunday routine, before his father and brother went looking for plywood to board up their home in Orange Grove.

They found supplies miles away in Pascagoula. By morning their church was gone, he said, and the Coast was in ruins.