When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August 2005, thousands were left cut off, devastated, alone. But the (Biloxi) Sun Herald and SunHerald.com never stopped publishing, in print or online.

With communications down, electricity sporadic and many newspaper employees missing, SunHerald.com kept the news flowing to residents, evacuees, friends and relatives around the clock.

Sports writer Don Hammack staffed a blog that reported on events as the storm progressed, even as his home was destroyed.

Photographers used satellite phones to transmit photos to the Web site, creating a compelling image gallery.

Discussion boards allowed residents to send messages to friends and loved ones, share how they survived and report losses. SunHerald.com then launched an interactive map that tracked damage in key local communities.

Editors tapped readers' experiences and asked them to submit digital photos of local damage. Hundreds responded. Later, editors compiled "Before & After" images, and SunHerald.com launched a Flash feature that showed the impact of the storm on local landmarks.

During the crisis and the weeks that followed, readers thirsty for information reached out to the paper through the Web site, and the paper and Web site reached back. Both continue to play a key role in Mississippi's rebuilding and renewal.

Highlights of the coverage:

SunHerald.com home pages

Multimedia slideshow highlighting the frequent, daily home page updates - stories, headlines and photos - throughout the Hurricane Katrina coverage.
(Macromedia Flash required)

Discussion Boards

Before setup of the first Katrina message board on the site was even completed, readers already had found the new forum and began posting messages. Within three hours of launch on 8/30, more than 8,000 messages had been posted. From 8/30 to 9/30, the message boards received more than 2.6 million page views.

Readers used the SunHerald.com discussion boards to find missing loved ones, report damage, find/report missing items, see shelter and highlight their heroes.

Reach Loved Ones
Click here to view the general category or click on the entries below for specific examples.
Where requested, you may log in as "guest" Damage Reports
Click here to view the general category or click on the entries below for specific examples.
Where requested, you may log in as "guest" Found / Missing
Click here to view the general category or click on the entries below for specific examples.
Where requested, you may log in as "guest" Housing
Click here to view the general category or click on the entries below for specific examples.
Where requested, you may log in as "guest" Heroes
Click here to view the general category or click on the entries below for specific examples.
Where requested, you may log in as "guest"

Reader-Submitted Photos

The Stories of Katrina photoblog had been set up and promoted for only three hours on 9/02, and already users both in Biloxi and those who had evacuated had posted more than 50 images of the storm, damage and lost loved ones. The blog received almost 1.6 million page views in September, with 183,000 of those in the first eight hours.
Even with limited electrical power, local readers were able to report their view of the disaster by uploading their own photographs to SunHerald.com.

Readers began searching for relatives using the same photo tool:

Photos: Before & After

The Sun Herald has been publishing "before and after" images showing damage to local landmarks. Click here to find a list of images labeled "Flash animations | Harrison County," and then select a location.

Photo Gallery

As soon as the first newspaper photo from the storm was posted, readers were pouring over the images to find some sense of a familiar place. Many used the photos to try to tell whether the homes they had evacuated were still standing. Here is as sampling of local images shot by The Sun Herald photographers:

Blog | Eyes on Katrina

Sun Herald sports reporter Don Hammack used a blog to update readers before, during and after the storm. Scroll bottom up to see the unfolding commentary and information for readers.
Also contributing: Geoff Pender and Sara Greer

Multimedia | Video & Audio

Harnessing Knight Ridder resources, photographers from the Star Telegram shot videos of local damage for the SunHerald.com site. Other video Audio

Online Maps

KRD staffers generated an online graphic that allowed readers to click on a specific city to find the latest stories about that community. Initially, the map displayed damage reports. After the first week, it changed into the links to more news.

Renewal

As part of the "renewal" process to rebuild the Mississippi Coast, SunHerald.com contributed to the communication process by posting on the home page the planning documents generated from the community brainstorming efforts.

PDF documents
Page views increased about 1,700 percent, from an average of 90,000 per day pre-Katrina to 1.6 million views the day after the storm. Three weeks later, traffic had leveled off but was still three times pre-Katrina levels.