Hurricane Katrina survivors living in Houston describe Harvey as 'like losing your mind all over again'

Homes near Lake Houston after Hurricane Harvey.
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Of the 150,000 to 200,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees who fled Louisiana for Houston, Texas, in 2005, approximately 40,000 still call the Magnolia City home today, The Wall Street Journal reports. For those thousands, Hurricane Harvey was a painful reprise: "It's like losing your mind all over again," said Terrence McKinney, who fled Katrina and watched a woman get pulled away by the floodwaters in Harvey. "Watching death happen, losing everything again."

Kate Quarrella, who lost her home in New Orleans and now lives in Dickinson, Texas, also said she is reliving a nightmare. "It was basically like watching everything over again, and there's nothing I can do," she told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I can't cry anymore."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.