A long drive: Dallas-area Hurricane Katrina survivor recounts narrow escape 20 years later
| August 28, 2025
A Forney woman looks back on evacuating New Orleans and finding a new life in Texas.
WATCH: Houston pastor reflects on Hurricane Katrina
| August 26, 2025
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, Houston pastor Shannon Verrett reflected on the devastating storm, the choas of evacuating and the heartbreak of personal loss.
“Most of the time when you're going through traumatic experiences in your life, you don't even know how strong your faith is. But when you weather the storm—when you're on the other side of through you begin to see: He had me back then. I was stronger than I knew,” Verrett, a pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, told COURIER Texas.
Katrina struck Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, killing 1,392 people and causing $125 billion in damages. Tens of thousands of New Orleans residents, like Verrett, evacuated to Houston.
From New Orleans to Houston: Hurricane Katrina survivors reflect 20 years later
| August 26, 2025
When cooking a New Orleans staple like gumbo, the first step is to make the roux, a process that requires the cook to meticulously stir a combination of flour and fat. The kitchen becomes hot and steamy as the mixture begins to boil, a savory and earthy scent setting the tone for a perfect stew. […]
Central Texas officials asked the state for flood alarm funding. It never came.
| July 17, 2025
EXCO-Player | natural disaster | old texas | politics | SAFETY | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | weather | youtube
Over the last decade, state officials repeatedly refused to fund a flood warning system in Central Texas.
Dallas lawmaker speaks about deadly floods
| July 15, 2025
CLIMATE CHANGE | EXCO-Player | flood | old texas | politics | state legislature | TEXAS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE | weather | youtube
Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D-Dallas) urges state lawmakers to focus on “proactive” solutions to natural disasters when the special session starts on July 21.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s response to natural disasters will be a top priority during the session. The floods that surged through Central Texas during the Fourth of July weekend killed over 120 people.