PORTSMOUTH, Va. — On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina slamming into New Orleans, New 3's Anchor Kurt Williams spoke with Lydell Decquir and his wife, Kellie, who ended up in Hampton Roads after leaving and never returning to New Orleans.
It's been two decades, but Lydell remembers Hurricane Katrina like it was yesterday.
"I'm sitting on the couch, water started to rise up in the house. Slowly but surely, it's rising, I said, 'Y'all, water in the house.' It's coming up through the floor," said Lydell.
Kellie remembers the day water started rising, too, saying that they tried to leave. However, when they opened the door, Kellie looked outside and realized it was too late.
"No, can't do that. We can't leave ... it was kind of too late at that point," said Kellie.
Lydell said the family came up with another plan.
"So we got in the attic. Once we got in the attic, we saw the water rising," he said.
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Once the family was up in the attic, Kellie says they watched the water closely.
"But the water stopped right at the opening of the attic for us. So that was ... nothing, but God, there," she said.
In the attic were Kellie, Lydell, his mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and the Decquirs' three young children: a one-year-old, a two-year-old, and a five-month-old.
Lydell shared what they had to eat, "We had a loaf of bread, a gallon of water and a can of milk for my son, because he was five months."
As they tried to keep the kids calm, Kellie said the kids asked a lot of questions.
"My son, he's an infant. He don't know what's going on. He's in there laughing, and the girls, they're scared," Kellie said.
She continued, "'Well, I want to get out of here. It's hot, I'm hungry. Can we go outside?' That's the type of stuff they were asking, you know, they toddlers. I was like, 'You can't go outside. There's water everywhere.'"
After about three days, the family heard helicopters outside their house.
"About the third day, we start hearing some flying over the house.... So after we start hearing helicopters, we start hearing people say, 'Over here, over here, over here.' So my father-in-law, he broke a hole in the roof," Lydell said.
And he said at that point they climbed out onto the roof to get their attention and flag down the helicopter, ""Hey, we need help. We need help!"
However, Lydell said they spent about four or five days in the attic.
Kellie shared what was going on in her mind with three young children and just a loaf of bread and a jug of water.
"We might die up here," Kellie thought.
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"A few days passed. It's like people took it upon their self to be saving each other," Lydell said. "These guys, these three guys in a boat, in a ... motorized boat, they came by where we're living at, by the roof. They picked my mother-in-law, my wife, and my sister and my three kids, and said, 'We can't come back for y'all.'"
Feeling relieved that at least his wife, kids and mother-in-law were rescued, Lydell started reflecting on being left behind.
"I'm sitting on the roof, and I thought it was over for me. And I begin to pray, and I say, 'Lord, I thank you. If this my end, I thank you for being good to me,'" Lydell said. "I lay down .... all of a sudden I heard a voice, I never forget this voice, 'Don't lay down on me now, big man.' I got up and saw the guys was in a boat. Me and my father-in-law got on. We went through the neighborhood rescuing ... who wanted to be rescued."
Lydell explained what brought them to Hampton Roads, saying, "My father-in-law, he's originally ... from Portsmouth, Virginia."
Kellie shares that this time of year is not easy, "It's still tough to deal with every time the anniversary comes around. I mean, I don't like to say anniversary, because the anniversary, you celebrate something that brings joy to you, that's happy, a happy memory. It's not a happy memory."
