The Story Of Mary Ann And Hurricane Camille
Ann lived near
the Gulf of Mexico in 1969 when Hurricane Camille struck her three-story
apartment building. Mary Ann was one of 24 people who didn't leave the
Richelieu Apartments when they were warned. When the storm surge hit,
the building began to creak and the windows broke out. Water started flooding
in and was all over the apartment in a matter of two minutes - and the
apartment was on the second floor!
about five minutes, Mary Ann's bed was floating half way to the ceiling.
As the building began to fall apart, Mary Ann floated out of the window
and grabbed onto a sofa pillow that came by. She became tangled in wires
and debris. It was dark, but Mary Ann saw the building come down all around
her. The wind was awful. It reached 234 miles per hour during Hurricane
Camille. Mary Ann continued to hold onto anything she could-furniture,
tree limbs and parts of houses and buildings. The winds and waves were
so strong that every time Mary Ann grabbed hold of something it would
be ripped from her hands. She kept getting hit by the wreckage and was
bloody from head to toe from the nails in the boards. This went on for
12 hours before Mary Ann was found 4 ½ miles from her house. She was taken
to a hospital where she stayed for three weeks.
, Mary Ann
is grown up. She still lives in Mississippi. She tells her story over
and over so people will listen when they're told to evacuate.
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