Hundreds are missing and feared dead in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi. Biloxi police report 40 dead, with the numbers likely to rise as search and rescue teams comb the thousands of destroyed homes across coastal Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties.

“The damage is devastating,” the canon to the ordinary of the Diocese of Mississippi, told The Living Church. “We don’t have anything reliable at this point” to report, the Rev. Canon David Johnson said, adding that there had been anecdotal reports that several parishes had been destroyed, but Katrina was “in excess of the power of [1969 hurricane] Camille.”

Hurricane Camille killed 144 Mississippians on Aug. 17, 1969, including 13 members of a family killed in the collapse of Trinity, Pass Christian. Camille leveled Christ Church, Bay Saint Louis, leaving only the cornerstone, church bell, brass altar rails, hymn boards, baptismal font, and bishop’s cathedra for salvage.

Initial reports on Katrina speak of devastation on a far greater level. The storm's tidal surge, more than 30 feet in spots, demolished the bridges linking Biloxi with Ocean Springs and the connection to Bay Saint Louis. A foot of water swamped the emergency operations center at the Hancock County Courthouse in Bay Saint Louis, which sits 30 feet above sea level, causing the back of the building to collapse.

Canon Johnson said, “We are looking into a fly-over” to assess the damage for the Coastal Convocation’s 10 parishes: Christ Church, Bay Saint Louis; St. Thomas’, Diamondhead; Trinity, Pass Christian; St. Patrick’s, Long Beach; St. Peter’s, Gulfport; St. Mark’s, Gulfport; Redeemer, Biloxi; St. John’s, Ocean Springs; St. Pierre, Gautier; and St. John’s, Pascagoula.

“Communications are non-existent” with the clergy and churches of the diocese’s coastal convocation, he said, noting that both wireless and landline telephone service was down. A spokesman for Mississippi Power told TLC that electric service to all of its 195,000 customers was down.

“Along with southern Mississippi and surrounding areas, Mississippi Power has suffered the worst catastrophe in our company’s history,” said Anthony Topazi, president and CEO of Mississippi Power. “By Tuesday afternoon we will have an initial assessment of the extent of time necessary to restore electric service to our customers.”

While tens of thousands heeded the evacuation calls issued by Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour, many remained in their homes, lacking either transportation or a place to go. The Rev. Marcia King, curate at St. John’s, Ocean Springs, wrote on Sunday, Aug. 29, before the hurricane’s landfall, that she would ride out the storm at her home.

“All of the interstates are packed so we have decided to just stay here and ride it out,” she wrote. “Our house is on the highest ground in Ocean Springs, and we should be safe from any storm surge.”

“Please keep us and everyone else in the path of this hurricane in your prayers,” she said.

To make a contribution to Episcopal Relief and Development to help people affected by Hurricane Katrina, please donate to the U.S. Hurricane Fund by credit card here or by calling 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129. Gifts can also be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development, c/o U.S. Hurricane Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101.

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