Family members cling to keepsakes found in their destroyed homes

Published: 2005-09-12

BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) -- The two-story Lopez family home in Biloxi is literally in pieces. Its remnants are flattened to the ground. There are no walls, doorways or furniture, only scattered appliances, bricks, broken plates, some glasses, wires, a sink and lots of sand and debris, oyster shells and rocks. A slab of cement marked where the shed once stood and a browned shrub marked the edge of the former yard, but nothing else in the completely flattened debris-strewn area that was once their neighborhood was recognizable after the winds and water surge of Hurricane Katrina swept through the coastal town. And yet, amid the rubble, Curtis and Ann Lopez found some prized possessions -- a DVD of family videos, a safe and a porcelain knickknack from a family member. Just a few blocks away, their son, Justin Lopez, and his wife, Bridgett, and their 3-year-old daughter, Olivia, also lost almost everything in the house they shared with Bridgett's parents. The house literally broke in half and collapsed and was full of mud, mildew and a strong stench, but the couple was able to somehow salvage a few personal items from the wreckage.

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