UNIDENTIFIED RAIL EMPLOYEE #1: All aboard.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Amtrak is returning to the Mississippi Coast for the first time since Hurricane Katrina made landfall 20 years ago. Cities along that route are still living with the storm's aftermath. Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf States Newsroom jumped on board to talk with business owners about what happened during Katrina and how their cities changed.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN HORN BLARING)
UNIDENTIFIED RAIL EMPLOYEE #2: And ladies and gentlemen, our first stop, once again, will be Pascagoula, Mississippi. Pascagoula, Mississippi.
STEPHAN BISAHA, BYLINE: During Katrina, nearly all of Pascagoula was submerged.
RICHARD CHENOWETH: You know, we say 90% of Pascagoula was flooded and about 10% had flood insurance.
BISAHA: Richard Chenoweth is the owner of Scranton's Restaurant, about a two-minute walk from the train depot. And that flooding happened here inside of Scranton's, too.
CHENOWETH: While we were sitting here, all the refrigeration equipment and everything like that is - it's floating up and tipping over and crashing into the plates.
BISAHA: Since then, downtown Pascagoula has been rebuilt, but a lot of the residents never came back. The population's about 15% lower than what it was before Katrina.
CHENOWETH: Well, the problem with me is that those 5,000 people could afford to leave. Those people were my customers.
BISAHA: He still thinks back to that golden age before the storm.
CHENOWETH: Back then, as soon as a table vacated, there was people sitting at it. Best time of my life (laughter).
UNIDENTIFIED RAIL EMPLOYEE #2: All right, ladies and gentlemen, that was Pascagoula, Mississippi. We're now underway to our next scheduled station stop of Biloxi, Mississippi.
BISAHA: At this point of the ride, both sides of the train are surrounded by sparkling Gulf Coast water before the tracks take us into Biloxi. And that is where Tyrone Burton has been a barber for more than 60 years.
(SOUNDBITE OF HAIR CLIPPERS BUZZING)
BISAHA: Why did you want to be a barber?
TYRONE BURTON: Oh, man. I'm a country boy. I came out of the field. And this is just like a toy. This is a hobby for me.
BISAHA: Now, this part of Biloxi is like a lot of towns, where the train tracks act like a dividing line between Black and white neighborhoods.
BURTON: They used to use that word, back across the tracks.
BISAHA: On the south side of the tracks, by the water, are the beach homes and casinos. They were washed away during Katrina and have since been rebuilt. But north of the tracks, where Burton has his barbershop, he says it's still worse off.
BURTON: We was already going down. And when Katrina come, that's give them them more opportunity 'cause they was able to get the insurance. And they out of here.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN CHUGGING)
UNIDENTIFIED RAIL EMPLOYEE #2: We will be coming up to Bay St. Louis drawbridge, coming around the curve right now, if everybody wants to look out the windows here shortly. Coming over to beautiful Bay St. Louis.
BISAHA: Beautiful is the right word for Bay St. Louis. As we approach the city, you could see a marina filled with boats. And just a couple blocks up from the station are plenty of places to pick up some local art, including at Gallery 220.
JENISE MCCARDELL: It's always been an arty town, which - that's why I'm here.
BISAHA: Jenise McCardell is this gallery's owner. Bay St. Louis was just a few miles from where Katrina made landfall, and it wiped out the city. But since then, Bay St. Louis has rebuilt, and McCardell says it's booming. It's got a reputation as a New Orleans ocean air getaway. Now McCardell is retiring, and is having no trouble finding a buyer for her gallery.
MCCARDELL: Yeah, there's not very much property for sale around here - commercial property. So - and it's a wonderful building.
BISAHA: One thing that has not been wonderful has been insurance. It's not only expensive, you might not be able to find any.
MCCARDELL: You have to just have money to self-insure, which is sad. We want all types of people here, but, you know, it's kind of made society choose who can live here.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN CHUGGING)
BISAHA: If you look out the train to the south, it's pretty much the same Gulf that was there 20 years ago. But look north at the communities along this route, and many are still figuring out what recovery means.
For NPR News, I'm Stephan Bisaha on the Mardi Gras Amtrak line.
UNIDENTIFIED RAIL EMPLOYEE #2: See y'all on the platform. Thank you.
KELLY: To hear more about the new train and learn how Katrina has changed the Mississippi Coast, check out the latest episode of the podcast Sea Change.
(SOUNDBITE OF JAMES ANDERSON SONG, "JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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