Over nearly 40 years as a photojournalist, I’ve photographed many emergencies and natural disasters — fires, floods, tornadoes, accidents, crime scenes and more.

But nothing compares to the total devastation I witnessed 20 years ago in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The path of destruction from Hurricane Katrina was like nothing I have ever seen. It looked like the world’s biggest bulldozer had just cleared whatever was there.

It’s the most destruction I've ever seen in one place at one time.

I was one of several journalists in what was then the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain who volunteered to travel to Mississippi in the days immediately following the hurricane’s landfall to help cover the disaster and recovery efforts. Former Akron Beacon Journal reporter, Kymberli Hagelberg, joined me as a "l

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