20 years later, Hurricane Katrina survivor says Iowa is his chosen home
Atlias Bell, who was just 7 years old when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, remembers the events of Aug. 29, 2005 vividly.
His mom Brenda grabbed nothing but a bag of family photos and they headed for the New Orleans Superdome, a sports arena, with 30,000 others seeking refuge who couldn't evacuate the city.
"The first thing I woke up to was the roof light coming off, and it was rain coming in," Bell said, recounting his first night sleeping in the Superdome. "They used to fly the helicopters over us. That's how we got air, because that's how hot it was."
Bell's family spent a day inside the arena before moving outside, enduring the Louisiana summer heat for a week while waiting for a bus to take them out of the state.
"You would look over and you would see bodies floating in the water," Bell said.
His dad passed away in 2003. During Katrina, he remembers worrying what the water would do to his dad's grave.
After a few days sleeping and using the bathroom in line outside the Superdome, they were finally about to board a bus. But then, Bell's grandmother passed out. Bell said officials told them they couldn't hold up the line and they'd have to leave her behind.
The family was bussed to Dallas, and miraculously, after not hearing from his grandmother or knowing if she was OK, a short time later she made it to Texas, too.
"My mom and my grandma, they were strong women, and they kept us tight and together," Bell said.
Soon after, his uncle already living in Des Moines arranged for them to fly to Iowa. Ten years later, on the 10th anniversary of the storm, vlog spoke to Bell's mother Brenda.
"Des Moines has embraced us so well," she said. "It like nurtured [her kids] and took care of them ... this is like home to them."
Bell and his siblings grew up in Des Moines, celebrating birthdays and holidays, and attending local schools. While his family has returned to New Orleans, Bell chose to stay in Iowa.
"I love going back home to visit, but this probably feels more like home. I have my friends here," he said. His friends became like a second family, even visiting New Orleans with him on occasion.
Despite all their loss, they consider themselves lucky compared to the 1,800 people who died in Katrina and the $125 billion in damage it caused.
"The city is still recovering from that," Bell said.
In some ways, he still is too.
"Me and my brother, we were scared of weather for like years after that."
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Twenty years later, Bell holds positive memories of New Orleans.
"New Orleans is a very magical place," he said. "It gives me pride, like dang. Like, I'm from here."
Although he sometimes wonders what life would have been like if they had stayed, he believes, everything happens for a reason. The same sentiment his mom shared with vlog in 2015, saying, "What happened 10 years ago was a way of God getting us to where he wanted us in life."
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