Exactly 20 years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans with a fury the city had never seen before. Fannie was there in the middle of the storm, where she experienced both fear for her life... and... the profound peace of God.

“This is the end of the world—”

Fannie stood frozen on the motel’s staircase as the flood waters rose, while a crowd of terrified guests rushed past her seeking the 2nd floor.

“God, what do I do?”

Churning gray water… shrieking winds… bone-rattling thunder… panicked screams…

Heart pounding, Fannie watched the trash-filled, murky water greedily eat away at the walls of the La Quinta Inn, swallowing another few inches every second. Quickly, the entire downstairs was devoured by the dirty waves.

She stepped backwards into the crowded hallway of the 2nd floor and worked her way onto the covered porch that surrounded the motel.

Where the parking lot had been just moments before, Fannie now saw only a swirling gray madness, churning mud, trash, and cars. The city of New Orleans, as she knew it, had vanished. Several nearby houses had completely disappeared beneath the waves, and Fannie’s stomach clenched as she heard the cries of the occupants, piercing through Hurricane Katrina’s howling winds.

“Their homes are turning into coffins—”

The torrent was only a foot below the 2nd floor porch and still rising.

Police officers were on the porch with them, directing the crowd to strip the sheets off every bed and tie them into ropes and begin climbing onto the motel’s roof.

A huge wave carrying a floating car swept by the building, spraying people and coming dangerously close to a window.

Chaos broke out afresh, and screams of horror erupted from the crowd.

The flood waters were now only inches from the 2nd floor where everyone stood.

Powerless, Fannie scanned the group of terrified faces and locked eyes with her niece, Amanda. Her face streaked with tears and dirty water, Amanda cried out over the chaos…

“Start praying, Auntie Fannie!”

The water frothed hungrily at the edge of the porch, mere seconds from pouring into the motel.

“Auntie Fannie, PRAY!”

Listen now to Fannie Scott’s one-of-a-kind testimony of seeing
God’s Hand working during Hurricane Katrina.

Below are photos from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina

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