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Echo file photo
Many residents of the area found their homes mangled among all types of debris after the tidal wave of Camille touched the majority of Hancock County's land mass south of 1-10.
Echo file photo
Beach Boulevard, Bay St. Louis, at IVIain Street shows the fury of Camille. Debris from the buildings on the beach side can be seen strewn across the boulevard.
This article is a reprint from "Camille'’, a publication compiled by the Staff of the Sea Coast Echo, originally printed in October, 1969
On August 14, 1969, a rapidly formed tropical storm located in the Carribbean near Grand Cayman Island was noted. She was somewhat benign moving alor, 'a*5011'- 10 miles an hour and in't reach hurricane intensity until the morning of August 15 when during that night she passed over the western tip of Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico. Rocking along on a northnorthwestern track at about the same forward speed the then named Hurricane Camille on the afternoon of August 16 stalled for several hours and intensified. During that night she moved forward still on north-northwest course and her winds in the center were estimated at 150 m. p. h.
On Sunday, August 17, an air force plane forced its way into the eye of the storm and found the central barometric pressure to be 26.61 inches. That represents the lowest barometric rep "	' ever recorded on the
we i hemisphere by an air craft!
Now the eye of the storm crossed the Mississippi Gulf Coast near Waveland Mississippi at about 10:00 p.m. CDT Sunday evening August 17 and her winds had increased to about 200 m.p.h. She was howling! Dr Robert H. Simpson Chief of the National Hurricane Center in Miami said, "Basis of my experience and observation, I would conservatively estimate the winds ranged at or about 200 miles an hour. This is on the threshold of tornado intensity. ”
High tides resulted. Tide gauges and records were destroyed. It was necessary to get tide stages from high water
marks. Static high tides, were taken at Mean Sea Level in Mobile. Alabama with 7.1 feet: Pascagoula 10 to 11 feet: Biloxi 15.5 to 20 feet: Gulfport 20 feet: Pass Christian 21.4 feet and Bay St. Louis 20 feet. The Army Engineers said waves on top of these static high tides were considerably higher and there has been sufficient evidence to verify the statement.
President of the United States Richard Nixon under Public Law 875. declared on August 18 the state of Mississippi a major disaster area and authorized 26 counties of the 82 to be eligible for Federal assistance under the President's Office of Emergency Preparedness. George Hastings of the President's office of E. P. was assigned to marshal the
federal assistance and recovery effort in the stricken Gulf Coast region.
With un-excelled skill and knowhow the recovery program was organized, launched and under way. The U. S. Corps of Army Engineers moved in. Bay St. Louis was under Martial law. There was a strict curfew. Red Cross. Salvation Army and other humanitarian units moved in. There was a bee hive of activity in restoring communication. clearing debris.1 bringing in pure water, feeding the thousands, makino homes for the homeless, giving innocula-tions treating the injured. Identifying and burying the dead. Fighting the fires. Evacuating the young and the old and the sick. And with rapid fire, decisions setting up opera-
tions to clear debris, restore public utilities, safe-guard health, protect the desolate.
Admittedly the Gulfcoast — "gold coast" of only hours before had become a desolate center destruction never before known to the area. Ocean going vessels went aground, people died, businesses were damaged or destroyed. Communications were all but cut-off. Processing plant damages were estimated at 38,000.000 loss. Off-shore drilling took a licking, 4,000 workers were without jobs in
the industry alone, agriculture losses and dairy farmer losses were massive. Orchards of timber. pecan and tung suffered. Tourist industry was with an estimated $31,638,612 loss. Children were evacuated. 139 persons were known dead. Many unidentified or unaccounted for. 66,000 families suffered loss of property as reported to the Red Cross. 4,000,000 pounds of USDA foods were supplied. 14,000 families registered for assistance with the Red Cross. An estimated
110,000 insurance claims are anticipated! Loss of personal and corporate tax to the general fund for the balance of 1969 estimated at $3,450,000. Not to mention sales tax losses, alcoholic beverage taxes, etc.
From Gulfport headquarters, George Hastings spread his recovery team to satellite office in hard hit Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, and Biloxi. All federal assistance force came at the request of Mississippi's Governor John Bell Williams. On-the-scene teams plan to be in the area for at least a year to > supervise federal efforts, administer expenditure of millions of recovery-fund dollars, restore and repair facilities (Public Law 81-875) and marshall efforts of more than 15 federal agencies in 33 government programs.
Three weeks following Camille Bay St. Louis was well-off by comparison. Most of the streets were clear. Over 50 percent of the phone service was installed. For the most part private well drinking water had been tested and approved. Business places — some of them — were in operation and prices were surprisingly below normal. For instance Jitney Jungle sold bread for 10 cents a loaf and chicken at 29 a pound. Other stores and Restaurants made similar attempts to help customers.
Profiteering was rare and scorned. Damaged goods were sold to salvage houses. The people bought first-class merchandise and knew it. Dealers were honest about used cars — T. V.'s and other salvaged merchandise. School plans went forward. There were endless meetings -planning re-construction , planning a better town, planning a model community -- planning a way to assist each other and thereby assist themselves. An attitude of courage, fortitude, and determination was order of the day. Day - afterday a united community with shoulder-to-thewheel pushed forward through muck and stinch and sweat to rebuild a town with a slogan that nobody knows who originated: Let's Build Bay St. Louis - and Build it Better." American flags were never so cherished. Lives never held in more reverence.