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CIVIL ENGINEER SURVIVES KATRINA
THE Eastbourne family of a man caught in the thick of the New Orleans tragedy breathed a sigh of relief this week when he arrived back home.
Kevin Martin is staying with his mother, Grace, at the family home in Bradford Street and fears it will be months before he can return to his home.
The civil engineer has lived in New Orleans for 14 years but packed up his belongings and boarded up his house when he heard Hurricane Katrina was about to hit over the Bank Holiday weekend.
'When you live in that area and there is a hurricane warning you know there is a possibility it could end up on your doorstep, so you have to prepare,' said Mr Martin.
The day before the storm lashed the Gulf Coast, Mr Martin headed north to Baton Rouge.
'They were predicting it would be a grade four or five hurricane, which means winds of 150 and 160 miles an hour, so I decided to leave in the early hours of Sunday morning when it looked likely it would hit New Orleans.
'I was in a bed and breakfast north of Baton Rouge when the storm hit and the flooding began and we could see the deteriorating situation in New Orleans.
'I knew then it would be several months before we could get back into the city so decided to get a flight out of Houston and head back to England.'
Mr Martin said he did not know when he would be able to move back to his house.
He added, 'My house is high and dry as it is on a slope. I have managed to look on the surveillance maps on the Internet and it looks okay and still in one piece.
'I am very relieved but realistically I am not going to be able to go back and live in my house for at least a year.
'At least my house is still standing but so many people have died and lost their homes and New Orleans is a city that has been devastated.'
Mr Martin is planning to fly back to the States later this month to help in the massive re-building of the area.
He added, 'New Orleans is my home which has a great culture and I want to be a part of re-building it back up to the great place it was.'
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Weather for Eastbourne
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
