Rotary Scholar Writes Book on Katrina

Kathleen Koch, former CNN correspondent and Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, reports from her hometown of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA, after Hurricane Katrina devastated its residents and infrastructure. Photo by Skip Nocciolo/CNN

Just days after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2005, CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch rushed to her hometown of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to cover a story that other media outlets weren’t telling.

Much of the immediate news focused on the chaos in New Orleans, Louisiana. Koch, a former Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar and an award-winning broadcast journalist, reported instead on the devastation in communities along the coast of Mississippi.

"I had a deep fear the history books would focus only on Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans. Most Americans didn't realize that Mississippi caught the brunt of the storm," Koch says. "Before I left my hometown, I made a promise to the residents that I won't let anyone forget what happened."

In her new book, Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered, she fulfills her promise.