Chua Van Duc Buddhist Temple October 2015

Biloxi, Mississippi was a land once inhabited by Biloxi Indians. It was founded in 1699 by French settler Pierre LeMonyne D'Iberville with a history spanning over 300 years. Biloxi is a coastal city that borders the Gulf of Mexico to the South and the Biloxi Bay to the North. On Monday August 29, 2005, Biloxi was massively damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which struck full-force with a 30-ft (9-m) storm surge that destroy almost every residential neighborhoods and businesses within the city, and pushed casino barges inland. The Van Duc Temple Buddhist Temple in Biloxi, Mississippi had just had its grand opening the day before Hurricane Katrina, and the newly manicured grounds and building flooded with more than 10 feet of water. Dang Ngo spent a good part of Monday morning swimming to his temple from his house several blocks away. He and his brother spent hours huddled with other Vietnamese praying to the Buddha to save them from the sea surge that swept through their small community. The ocean poured through the temple, swamping statues, tipping over tables and driving about 30 men, women and children to climb up a small ladder through a hole broken in the ceiling. They cowered in the attic watching the ocean surge beneath them. "We hoped and prayed everyone inside would be OK," said Ngo, a 41-year-old refugee. "But we knew everything outside was destroyed." Today you see the Temple in this photo is in complete repair 10 years after Katrina, thanks to the many Buddhist and non-Buddhist volunteers.
Read less