This story, headlined "Nightmare in the 9th Ward all too real for one woman," was originally published Sept. 1, 2005. It is being republished for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as part of The Times-Picayune's Pulitzer-winning coverage.

Lucrece Phillips' sleepless nights are filled with the images of dead babies and women, and young and old men with tattered T-shirts or graying temples, all of whom she saw floating along the streets of the Lower 9th Ward.

The deaths of many of her neighbors who chose to brave the hurricane from behind the walls of their Painter Street homes shook tears from Phillips' bloodshot eyes Tuesday, as a harrowing tale of death and survival tumbled from her lips.

"The rescuers in the boats that picked us up had to push the bodies back with sticks," Phi

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