AI-assisted summary

Hurricane Katrina devastated Bayou la Batre, Alabama, in 2005, causing extensive damage to the fishing town.

Despite receiving aid, including $2.1 million from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the town feels overlooked compared to other areas affected by the hurricane.

Residents say the loss of oyster reefs and perceived mismanagement by the state continue to impact the local fishing industry.

In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, then-Bayou la Batre mayor Stan Wright said he saw a sign someone had put up outside city hall that preached “hurricane readiness.”

“I told my guy to pull it up and throw it in the dumpster,” Wright remembered with a scoff and a shake of his head. “‘Hurricane readiness.’ You’re not ready for that, there is no hurricane readiness — that’s l

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