Pearlington - a town that was "wiped off the map"

When I first came to the Gulf Coast, and talked with residents standing on slabs in Pascagoula, sitting in trailers in D'Iberville or trying to figure out whether to salvage or demolish their homes in Bay St Louis, the conversation would eventually roll around to the eye of the storm. When the name Pearlington came up in conversation, the words used were eerily similar across the coast:

"Ohhhh, Pearlington...they got hit hard." or "It was wiped off the map."

Until I visited the town, I thought it was a turn of phrase. I was wrong. In fact, in some of the new maps of Mississippi, it is no longer on the map. In a state where there are basically 11 towns along the coast, that is a notable omission. The Post Office has not been rebuilt. The water system is still in shreds. But for the hearty souls who call it home, there is hope.

University of Pennsylvania has taken on projects in Hancock County with a special focus on Pearlington. Connie Hoe and Ken Foster led a team to Pearlington this winter.

"When Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2005, itplowed right into Pearlington, a small community nestled in thecypress-and-yellow pinewoods near the coast. The storm surge from Katrinasubmerged the town beneath 6 meters of water. When aid workers first arrived 10days later, they found hungry residents living in tents and under tarps, andevery house, building, and vehicle in the town had been destroyed."

Please read the full article excerpted above to learn more about the true nature of resiliency in a tiny town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.