Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "I was living in Tupelo, Mississippi, at the time. When Hurricane Katrina hit the coast, not only did it damage New Orleans, but the damage went through Mississippi and Alabama. It was surreal."
It was Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago that inspired Buffalo native Steve Tybor to create, what is known today as Eight Days of Hope.
"It is still the costliest storm ever. In today's dollars, it would be equivalent to $210 billion, or about 115 Highmark Stadiums," said Tybor on Friday with WBEN.
When the storm itself passed, and there was brief relief, but shortly after, the levees broke, flooding 80% of the City of New Orleans, and killing more than 1,400 people. The damage also covered the whole coast of Mississippi, which endured a 27-foot storm surge.
"I went to Gulfport, Mississippi five days after the storm. A state trooper drove me to the beach where it looked like a bomb had dropped. There was an eerie smell in the air. He told me it was from the dead and missing. They had not recovered bodies yet. That was an eye opener," Tybor said.
Tybor and a few other volunteers focused on two towns in Mississippi:
Bay St. Louis and Waveland.
"Over a span of five years, we had four major rebuilding trips," Tybor said. "We helped about 600 families rebuild their homes in eight days. Whenever I go to the Gulf coast, it brings a warm feeling to my heart knowing that we played a small part in the recovery of Katrina."
Since 2005, Eight Days of Hope has responded to 110 disasters across the country. Some of them have been significant, but none as big a Hurricane Katrina.
The faith-based disaster ministry brings hope to communities after a natural disaster, rebuilding damaged homes and lives. It also brings trailers with showers, laundry and kitchens to provide meals for those in need.
There is another Buffalo connection to Hurricane Katrina.
WBEN sent three reporters to New Orleans to help WWL Radio cover the storm and its aftermath in 2005. WWL was a lifeline to people, as power was out for months.
WBEN's Barbara Burns, Dave Debo and Steve Cichon made the trek to New Orleans, and pitched in to help their struggling staff.
"Back then, we didn't have smart phones. The internet was in its infancy, and there was no audio or video streaming," said veteran WWL broadcaster Dave Cohen. "We needed people to cover the storm. We were lucky to have people from WBEN and other stations comes down and help us out."
Here is our conversation with WWL's Dave Cohen, on the 20th anniversary of Katrina.