Reflecting on the impact Hurricane Katrina left on millions, including some CBS Texas employees
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast, breaching levees in New Orleans and causing catastrophic flooding.
Nearly 1,400 people died, making the storm one of the deadliest and most defining disasters in American history.
CBS News Texas reporter J.D. Miles and photojournalist Billy Sexton were among the first out-of-town news crews to arrive in New Orleans.
"I remember waking up on a Sunday morning here in North Texas. It was a beautiful day. I got a call that Sunday morning from my news director at the time who, their first words were, 'Do you want to cover a category five hurricane?' I had mixed feelings about it because that's scary. It's dangerous. But the reporter in me immediately said, 'Yes,'" Miles said.
Early arrival in New Orleans
When Miles and Sexton arrived, they toured the French Quarter to observe preparations before the storm made landfall.
"For the most part, a lot of people in the French Quarter, a lot of people in downtown New Orleans were taking it in stride. I don't think they ever had any idea that this could be a life or death situation," Miles said.
The next day, Katrina made landfall. Wind and rain intensified overnight.
"Just before dawn, you could feel the wind picking up. The rain was getting heavier. Things were breaking loose and flying around on the street," Sexton said.
Injured during the storm
As the storm peaked, a large iron gate struck both journalists.
"There was this construction crane, high construction crane right across the street from us. And we kept going out and taking a look at it. You could see it moving like this in the wind," Sexton said.
"There was an iron gate. I have a picture of—you'll see it—that was used to keep cars from coming in once it closed for the evening," Miles said.
Sexton said he was watching the crane when the gate suddenly swung open and hit both men.
"The next thing you know, I'm catapulted into the air. I feel something hit the back of my head with the force of what I felt like was a baseball bat. I mean, I thought I had a brain injury," Miles said. "I landed on my knee, but my foot was still flat on the ground, which was obviously not normal."
"I had been knocked and slid up underneath a car. And this is a weird thing because I'm like, that looks like the inside of a car hub. And then I feel somebody pulling on my legs. And there was another TV crew there. They pulled me out from under the vehicle, and I started looking around, asking where J.D. was and said, 'We've already got him inside. We couldn't find you,'" Sexton said.
Reporting through injury and chaos
Despite his injuries, Miles continued reporting.
"You really couldn't get around on the streets or anything. Nobody knew what the hospitals were like, so we just kept covering the storm," Miles said.
Sexton recalled following a New Orleans Police Department truck towing a flatboat.
"I yelled at J.D. and we ran and we got in the car and we just kind of started following," Sexton said.
"We were one of the first crews to get into the 9th Ward when the water was rising," Miles said.
Sexton described the moment the National Guard arrived.
"A big National Guard six-by truck pulled up. The truck blew its horn, and then after that, all you could hear in the wind and everything were people screaming, people on rooftops yelling for help," Sexton said.
Later that night, Miles was admitted to a hospital in Baton Rouge with a concussion and a broken foot.
"Talking to those people from the window—I can only assume they got out, but I can't be sure. And that bothers me to this day," Miles said.
Helping amid devastation
CBS News Texas anchor Steve Pickett joined the team after Miles was injured.
"I got a phone call that said, 'You know, J.D. is down. We need you to go,'" Pickett said.
Pickett and Sexton continued reporting as conditions worsened.
"They were bringing senior citizens out of a location and then they just dropped them on the off ramp. Ninety degrees outside. It's just scorching. Frankly, those people were going to die if somebody didn't do something," Pickett said.
Pickett and Sexton used their news car to transport people to safety.
"I have been to war. I've been to forest fires. I've been to tornadoes. New Orleans was the only place—the only place—where I had to stop being a reporter and help somebody live," Pickett said.
Witnessing resilience and heartbreak
"I remember a woman holding up a sign and yelling at the camera, 'I'm okay,'" Sexton said.
The next day, Pickett and Sexton arrived at the New Orleans Convention Center, which had been designated a rescue site.
"It was worse than anything I saw in Baghdad. Because you don't expect to see that kind of, frankly, depravity—the use or nonuse of response for people in your own backyard in America," Pickett said.
He recalled a woman sweeping the street outside the convention center.
"She stopped. And she looked at us. She looked at our photographer and said, 'One thing I want to say. I'm not a refugee. I am a United States citizen. Okay?'" Pickett said.
Sexton agreed.
"I'm very careful not to harm refugees. These people were evacuees. They were seeking shelter. But yeah, that woman definitely set the tone," Sexton said.
"To see that woman sweeping that street and to stop and point at us and demand that we give her respect—I'll never forget," Pickett said.
Personal ties to New Orleans
Sexton, who grew up in New Orleans, said many of his family members still live there.
"I had no idea what happened to my family there. I knew my mom had left town because I had told her to leave town, but I didn't know the condition of her home. I had a brother there. Cell phones were down. I couldn't get in touch with him," Sexton said.
He said continuing to work helped him stay connected to the community.
"To go back there now, it's hard to even know that it ever happened. Some of the areas that were really hit hard, that were close to Lake Pontchartrain or North Shore, were completely leveled," Sexton said. "But today it's built back. If you grew up there, hurricanes are part of it. That's part of the life there. But I think it's just a strong feeling that that's home. And they're not going to give it up, you know, come hell or high water."