Hurricane Katrina

Hello. My name is Petty Officer Mike, and I am a rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard. My job is to help people who are in trouble, and I get to fly in a big, noisy helicopter. Whirly-whirly-whirly, it goes. One day, I looked outside and saw the sky getting very dark and gray. The wind started to whoosh and whistle through the trees. I knew a very big storm was on its way. This was a super-duper big storm, and its name was Hurricane Katrina. It was coming to a beautiful city called New Orleans, and my friends and I had to get ready to help lots of people.

After the storm passed on August 29th, 2005, my helicopter flew high above the city. When I looked down, I saw water everywhere. It looked like a giant bathtub had overflowed and covered all the streets and houses. I saw people waving from their rooftops, and even some dogs and cats were with them. They needed our help. My pilot carefully flew the helicopter, and my friends lowered me down in a big, safe basket. I would scoop people up and tell them, “Everything will be okay.” Then, up, up, up we would go, back to the safe, warm helicopter. We did this again and again, helping as many families as we could.

It made my heart so happy to see so many people helping each other after the storm. Neighbors shared their food and gave each other big hugs. Everyone worked together to clean up and make things nice again. It was a lot of work, but everyone was a helper. It showed me that even after a very big storm, people's kindness can shine as bright as the sun, making everything feel a little bit better.