BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina , those who experienced the storm are reflecting on what they and others in the community endured.

Jimmy Freeman has been with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi since before its grand opening.

The Hard Rock was scheduled to open in early September 2005, but Hurricane Katrina washed away those plans.

“I was one of the last ones out, and I was one of the first ones back,” said Freeman.

In 2005, casinos in South Mississippi were on giant barges, and many were torn from their moorings by Katrina’s powerful winds and storm surge.

“It just picked these two barges up like they were toys and leaned them up against the building,” said Freeman. “The whole back end of the building was gone.”

Like many other

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