The Ouachita Parish - Mississippi Gulf Coast Connection

Hurricane Camille came ashore in August 1969 as a dangerous Category 5. The destruction didn't stop at the Mississippi Coast. Like Hurricane Ida in 2021, Hurricane Camille unleashed its fury on the Northeastern United States. Destructive flash flooding struck the Common Wealth of Virginia taking more lives.

Wade Guice, was the Harrison County Mississippi Civil Defense Director in 1969. He coordinated the evacuation as Hurricane Camille approached the Mississippi Coast. He is credited with saving thousands of lives. Wade passed away in 1996, but he remains a legend on the Gulf Coast.

Five years after Hurricane Camille, Wade gave an interview with the Delta-Democrat Times. They were writing a story on the progress of the recovery. Wade gives us lessons learned we need to take to heart.

"I hope that if we ever have another storm that people will get the hell out of town," Guice said. "I believe they would be more inclined to leave if another storm comes--it was worse than war." - Wade Guice

In the late 1980s Ouachita Parish was working on it's Emergency Operation Plan (EOP). Civil Defense Director Jackie Rayborn Little travelled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to meet with Wade and his team. They reviewed and discussed the health annex and other sections of Harrison County EOP. Parts of the Harrison County EOP were incorporated into the Ouachita Parish EOP. The State of Louisiana incorporated parts of the Ouachita Parish EOP into the State template (Pelican Plan) for other parishes working on their EOP.

All these EOP's have changes a lot of over the years as they should. If you look close enough, Wade's groundbreaking planning work is still these plans. We need to remember Wade Guice for his work on the Gulf Coast and the help he gave Ouachita Parish and the State if Louisiana.

Source: NOAA, Newspaper.com and local knowledge

Tom M.