COLUMBUS, OH — A woman who survived Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago has made her home in Columbus.
Monique Simpson said she was the first woman seeking help inside the Superdome after the storm.
“For seven days in the Superdome, I really felt like that was the end of the world,” Hurricane Katrina survivor Monique Simpson said.
Simpson still has flashbacks to what she saw 11 years ago and some days she wakes up screaming in her sleep.
“I saw dead bodies floating,” Simpson said. “I had no idea I was going to be in there that long, it was horrifying. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Simpson’s home was destroyed and everything she owned was washed away.
She still has the backpack she took with her that day. She had a key chain from her kids, a number to someone who might give her a job in Columbus, and a bible she said she read repeatedly.
“Columbus is very helpful. If you can’t make it here, then something is really wrong,” Simpson said.