Hurricane Katrina victims make ABQ their new home

TWO YEARS SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA SLAMMED INTO LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI KILLING MORE THAN 16- H...  More »

TWO YEARS SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA SLAMMED INTO LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI KILLING MORE THAN 16- HUNDRED PEOPLE. "Hurricane katrina broke through levees broke a lot of hearts, destroyed buildings but it didn't effect the spirit of a lot of citizens."MEMORIAL SERVICES AND MARCHES ARE TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE GULF COAST TONIGHT TO REMEMBER ALL THAT WAS LOST. BUT FOR THOSE WHO LIVE WITH THIS DEVASTATION EVERYDAY.. THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY IS JUST ANOTHER DAY OF HARD WORK.. AND HEARTACHE. MANY IN NEW ORLEANS FLED THE CITY. AND ABOUT 13- HUNDRED ENDED UP HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE. SOME HAVE RETURNED HOME ... BUT MANY OTHERS HAVE CHOSEN TO SETTLE DOWN HERE. TODAY JEFF MAHER CAUGHT UP WITH ONE OF THOSE FAMILIES TO SEE HOW THEY'RE ADAPTING TO LIFE IN NEW MEXICO. HE'S HERE WITH OUR TOP STORY. TWO YEARS AGO LINDA DOUGLAS AND HER FAMILY KNEW LIKE SO MANY OTHERS - THEY HAD LOST EVERYTHING. THEY MISS HOME, BUT SAY THIS WAS THE BEST PLACE TO START OVER. "I tell tople, just close your eyes, and that"everything that you knew you had when you went to work is gone, all of that" TWO ED THEIR LIVES - LINDA DOUGLAS AND HER FAMILY STILL STRUGGLE TO MOVE ON IN A PLACE THEY NEVER EXPECTED TO BE. "you have nothing, no pictures, no mementos, nothing but what's in here , that's all you got"THE FAMILY IS LIVING IN AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN NORTHEAST ALBUQUERQUE. DOUGLAS IS RETIRED - THE REST ARE WORKING STEADY JOBS AT THE V-A HOSPITAL, BUT ARE FOREVER CHANGED. "my siblings, we're scattered all over the united states of American and it's been very difficult but through the grace of god we're holding on"ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THEY'VE HAD TO ADAPT TO IS THE FOOD, AND OF COURSE - GREEN CHILI. "in fact I'm a better green chili stew than I taste from locals, excuse me but it's true"" the only thing I miss a lot of is the fresh seafood" RED CROSS WORKERS SAY MANY OF THE EVACUEES HAVE GONE BACK - BUT A FEW HERE KEEP IN TOUCH. "it's that nice connection, it's going to impact them for the rest of their lives, impact us for the rest of our lives, and it's nice to come back together with people that we've helped just to see how they're doing and what's going on with their lives"ABOUT TWO BILLION DOLLARS WAS RAISED ACROSS THE WORLD TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA AND RITA. ALBUQUERQUE RAISED NEARLY A MILLION DOLLARS. COMING UP AT SIX - YOU'LL HEAR FROM ONE MAN WHO TRIED TO START OVER AGAIN IN NEW ORLEANS, BUT DECIDED ALBUQUERQUE WAS JUST A BETTER PLACE TO BE. BACK TO YOU.  « Less