Hurricane Katrina survivors use social media to remember painful anniversary

New Orleans was the epicenter of the suffering and destruction

MIAMI – New Orleans was marking the ninth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Friday. Many survivors who moved away used social media to remember the nightmare.

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It was early in the morning. The storm had already passed through Key West as a category 1 hurricane. But it made landfall --- on the Gulf Coast in southeast Louisiana near Buras -- as a category 5.

Katrina destroyed lives, property and turned a once lively city into a hopeless place. Many residents criticized the federal government's slow response. The anger still lingers.

"I remember hurricane Katrina," Ikote Brian said on Twitter. "[expletive] George Bush was on his farm riding horse [expletive] even though he knew in advance how serious [expletive] was."

While annihilating communities in Louisiana and Mississippi,  the aggressive winds left behind at least $80 billion in damage. Federal Emergency Management agency was criticized for its lack of preparation.

Neal Carter said on Twitter that he lost faith, because FEMA did not care "about poor black and brown people."

The Katrina monster killed more than 1,836 -- most of the deaths were in New Orleans. For some the memories, felt like putting salt on a wound that still hasn't healed.

Some survivors said on social media that they still have had to deal with nightmares, anxiety and depression.

"I need to stop reading the Katrina survivor stuff," Amanda Soprano said on Twitter. "It's flaring my PTSD. It's still too painful."

The home of Mardi Gras was the epicenter of the catastrophe, after the levee system failed. There was an exorbitant number of people homeless.

"The moment I realized Katrina destroyed our house, my neighbor hugged me, while I clutched my notebook," Anita Lee said on Twitter.

Besides the hash tag hurricane Katrina, other social media tags to mark the day included "Katrina Survivor," "Nola," "What The Levee Took," "Blessed" and "Never Forget."

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