CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - This year marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed parts of New Orleans and killed hundreds.

Many suffered significant loss and grief. It has also been 20 years since hundreds left New Orleans and came to Charlotte for safety.

One of those people is Martine Clark, who was raised in New Orleans but left when she heard the monstrous storm Katrina was coming her way. She got on the road and headed to North Carolina to stay with her friends in Huntersville.

“It was a lot,” Clark said. “We grabbed like three days’ worth of clothes. Oh, we’ll be right back. We’re going to run out of town and be right back, once we saw on TV the city underwater - it looked really different.”

The image of her city underwater concerned her so much that she didn’t return home.

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