Youngstown native returns home after surviving flood

Everyone in her apartment believed the water would be pumped out, she said.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Shanta D. Douglas was among some 30 people from her apartment building who, afraid and tired of waiting for help after Katrina hit, piled their belongings and children in two upended refrigerators and walked to safety.
Douglas, 33, formerly of Youngstown, said the only thing she was able to save from her flooded first-floor apartment was her Bible, her day journal and some of her Naval Reserve military gear. Her last entry in the journal was "Thank God I'm alive," entered after she survived the hurricane.
Douglas said she is very spiritual, and during the ordeal she prayed for peace of mind. "I had God on my side," she said.
She arrived at Cleveland International Airport on Saturday night and was brought home by her mother, Addier Douglas, and friends.
Douglas says she has fond memories of her five years in New Orleans, but has no plans to go back to live.
What happened
She successfully weathered Katrina in her apartment in New Orleans East, which she said is near the French Quarter.
On Aug. 29, however, about 30 minutes after the Harvey flood wall broke, she was up to her ankles in water and it was rising fast. She moved to a second-story balcony and was yelling for help.
She said people in second-floor apartments "opened their homes and their hearts and invited her in."
Douglas, a 1991 graduate of Chaney High School, said they all believed the pumping system would kick in, and they could get out. That did not happen.
By Aug. 31, "We said we have to get out of here," Douglas said.
The group took the doors off two refrigerators and turned the boxes into makeshift boats. They put their possessions in one and the children in the other and walked through three flooded areas, one where the water was thigh-high, and some dry areas to a nearby highway. There they were picked up by trucks and taken to Lake Front Airport. From there, they were taken to Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans and then flown to San Antonio.
For the immediate future, and until she gets back on her feet, Douglas, who attended Youngstown State University for two years, plans to stay in Youngstown with her mother. She lost virtually everything except the clothing she was wearing.
For people who want to help, a trust fund was established at National City Bank in her name. For other things, such as clothing, a car or employment, people may contact her mother at (330) 744-1733 or family friend Irma Payton at (330) 743-6876 .