Hurricane Katrina survivors make Tulsa home

TULSA - Five years ago on this weekend, Hurricane Katrina roared in from the gulf, devastating New Orleans and communities up and down the coast. Cities like Tulsa welcomed survivors and helped them pick up the pieces of their lives.

2News sat down with a family who has made Tulsa their home.

Veronica and Wade Morrell lived in New Orleans their whole lives before Hurricane Katrina hit. They made it to the super dome just in time.
"That Monday morning, when the eye of the hurricane hit the dome, it tore off part of the roof on the dome and the water started coming in. And we had to run from one section to another," Veronica said.

Veronica, Wade and their two sons took shelter in the super dome for days.
"It was horrible. It was really horrible, you know because there was a lot of elderly people, babies, children, and we didn't have anything to eat or drink. We couldn't use the restroom, the plumbing was gone. Very little electricty, and it must have been about 100 degrees," she said.

When it was safe to leave, they waited for days for a bus ride out of the city. Finally the Oklahoma National Guard arrived. On the bus ride, they saw the destruction the hurricane had caused.
"If you looked off to your left a little bit, you can see they had a body floating into the water. And I pretty much knew that we didn't have a home to come back to," Wade said.

They wound up in Oklahoma after driving around Texas for awhile. They stayed at Camp Gruber with other survivors.
The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross helped 2,500 families who evacuated after the hurricane.
"I must give Oklahoma a great bit of gratitude, because when all else failed us, they were there for us," Wade said.

The Morrells wound up staying here in Tulsa. Wade got a job at the homeless shelter at
Tulsa County Social Services.
"I wouldn't trade this job for any other job because I really believe I'm doing what God wanted me to do," he said.

Wade's brother and sister didn't make it through the storm. They worry another big hurricane could wipe out the city.
"Here right now you have three storms out there in that gulf. Can you guarantee that they're going to be safe? No. Can you guarantee them that they won't have another Katrina? No," Wade said.

But the Morrells believe some good came out of it for many survivors.
"Yes, we would like to go home. But Tulsa showed me a little bit of something that I like, and I'm here for as long as I can be here," Wade said.