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."
