WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—Seeing the natural disasters play out in Florida is bringing back memories for a McPherson man and his family who survived Hurricane Katrina.
The natural disasters currently happening in Florida are bringing back memories for one McPherson man of his family surviving Hurricane Katrina.
Robert Bunner’s daughter was seven years old when Katrina hit. She had just moved to a coastal town 1.5 hours from New Orleans. That’s when her school and most of her town were swept away.
Bunner said he jumped in his car, not knowing if his daughter and her mom would make it.
“I just had a cheap Nokia cell phone, and I tried calling, and the first call it goes through, and all of a sudden, it starts beeping, and it says you’re calling a hurricane area, there’s no service, please try again later,” Bunner said.
He drove a thousand miles from McPherson to Gautier, Mississippi, where his seven-year-old daughter, Asia, was stranded. Gautier is a coastal town hit by Hurricane Katrina. He had no idea what to expect when he arrived.
Asia and her mother braced as the storm wiped away her school and most of the town.
“All the cars on the street that were parked were going with the water,” said Asia Prater.
She said they survived on MRI packs as over a foot of water left their house in despair. They had no cell service and did not know when help would arrive.
“We tried to pull out carpet because when we were sleeping in there, it was just so thick and heavy with mold and the water,” said Prater.
Nearly four days later, Bunner arrived, astonished by the wreckage.
“I’m just looking around at all the damage. There’s boats that are landlocked, there’s tug boats floated over, her school was wiped out,” said Bunner.
Now living in Kansas, Bunner said they pray for those impacted by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.
“It brings back gut-wrenching feelings; I have so much sympathy for these people and families that I hope they can get away, evacuate, and be alright,” said Bunner.
Bunner shared that the biggest challenge they faced on the road was gas limitations. He said many stations had none available or had a $20 limit and gauged prices, making the thousand-mile trek back to McPherson feel like a lifetime.
For those who are interested in helping hurricane victims, Kansans in Wichita and Cowley County are collecting supplies to take to North Carolina. KSN’s parent company, Nexstar, has also partnered with the American Red Cross to collect donations.
