Hurricane Katrina was quickly heading towards Tulane University as freshman Alison Skaise met her roommate while moving into her dormitory.

“Two hours after we got there they told us we had to evacuate,” Skaise said, as the possibility of a catastrophic hurricane hitting New Orleans became more and more likely.

Skaise flew stand-by out of New Orleans Saturday, Aug. 28, just a day before Hurricane Katrina hit land.

Unfortunately for fellow Tulane student Jeff Hammond, escaping the hurricane as quickly as Skaise did was not possible. Instead Hammond, a pre-med senior, spent five days offering his medical services while trapped in a downtown New Orleans VA hospital.

“Monday the hurricane hit and it was just amazing outside,” Hammond said. “It was just crazy; you could see things flying through the air.”

Hammond, whose father worked as a research doctor at the same hospital, spent five frustrating days there waiting for rescue while aiding in the effort to keep patients in stable conditions.

“Over the course of five days everything just got worse and worse,” he said.

The hospital, which Hammond estimated held 500 patients and 300 staff members, about 60 of them doctors, lost drinkable water on the second day and was only equipped with four days worth of medicine.

According to Hammond, they were told the National Guard would rescue them on Wednesday, but they did not arrive until Friday because snipers were shooting at them from outside.

“By Wednesday, everyone was so upset and crazy that people were shooting guns,” he said.

In preparation for the anticipated Wednesday rescue, however, Hammond said they “had to carry the patients down six or seven flights of stairs in total darkness.” A few of the patients they “were carrying down the stairs died before we got to the ground,” he added.

Hammond said he witnessed many troubling sights during that week in New Orleans, including “people wading through toxic waste … going up to the hospital with weapons demanding narcotics” and “probably three (dead) bodies floating in the water.”

Frustrated by the experience of being stranded in the hospital for five days, Hammond was critical of both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and The American Red Cross for not delivering aid.

“They’re doing a great job now,” Hammond said of The American Red Cross. “But what they did in the five days I was there — they were not there; they refused to come in because there was gunfire.”

Transfer

After Tulane University President Scott Cowen announced the cancellation of the fall semester Friday, many students chose to transfer to other universities. Less than two weeks after she was evacuated, Skaise, a native of DeForest, Wisc., decided to enroll at University of Wisconsin and commute from home.

“I wasn’t talked to about getting a dorm room on campus,” Skaise said, although she did describe UW’s overall assistance during this time of crisis as “amazing.”

Hammond may also spend his fall semester in Madison but is considering several Chicago area universities as well. He said he plans to make a decision by the end of the week.

As far as their return to New Orleans, both Skaise and Hammond are concerned the city they return to will be radically different from the one they left.

“Part of me really wants to go back down there,” Skaise said. “It’s just really scary because no one knows what the city is going to be like for quite a while. I was only on campus for two hours, but it’s beautiful and it’s a really good atmosphere.”

Hammond said he certainly will return to Louisiana because his home survived the storm, but said the area may never fully recover.

“I know for a fact that my house is fine and I love New Orleans — it’s truly like nowhere else in the world,” Hammond said. “I just don’t think it’s ever going to be the same. It’s a very unique situation and it’s going to change the face of New Orleans forever.”