© 2026 254 North Front Street, Suite 300, Wilmington, NC 28401 | 910.343.1640
News Classical 91.3 Wilmington 92.7 Wilmington 96.7 Southport
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hurricane Katrina: A Wilmington Firefighter Remembers

Wilmington Fire Department's Captain Tim Smith (left) and NC State Medical Assistance Team member Bob Floresca prepare for their 2005 holiday toy drive in Waveland, Mississippi.
Wilmington Fire Department's Captain Tim Smith (left) and NC State Medical Assistance Team member Bob Floresca prepare for their 2005 holiday toy drive in Waveland, Mississippi.

By Michelle Bliss

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-920962.mp3

08-30-10 – It's been five years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall, killing 1,500 people, displacing thousands of others, and causing more than 1-hundred billion dollars in damages.

Just days after the storm hit, Wilmington firefighter Captain Tim Smith traveled to Waveland, Mississippi with the North Carolina Medical Assistance Team. He helped set up a field hospital just 2 miles inland in the parking lot of a K-Mart.

Even though he sees emergencies every day, Captain Smith tells WHQR's Michelle Bliss that it was different with Katrina.

Check out the 2005 Katrina photo galleries for the Southeastern Regional Advisory Commission.