This week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, leaving behind not just wrecked homes and businesses but entire communities struggling to survive.

Those who lived it will never forget the devastating destruction and emotional toll of so many lives and livelihoods ruined.

In Alabama, Katrina’s storm surge battered Mobile County and crippled Bayou La Batre’s fishing industry, threatening the livelihoods of generations of families who depended on the water.

Beyond the shoreline, homes, schools, and businesses were left in ruins. Recovery programs had to be built from scratch. Billions of dollars in federal disaster relief had to be managed with accountability and transparency, including through HUD programs administered in Alabama by the Alabama Department of Ec

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