Editing Bayou La Batre, Alabama (section)

===Hurricane Katrina===
[[Image:Katrina Bayou La Batre 2005 boats ashore.jpg|thumb|Cargo ship and boats aground at Bayou La Batre after [[Hurricane Katrina]]. The ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'' (left) was unloaded by crane six months later and refloated.]]

On August 29, 2005, the area was devastated by [[Hurricane Katrina]], with a local storm surge of nearly {{convert|16|ft|m|0|adj=on}}<ref name=TCRaug/> and higher waves that engulfed Bayou La Batre and pushed over 23 shrimp boats and the cargo ship ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'' onto shore.<ref name=APTbatre>"[http://www.aptv.org/VideoRoom/viewprogram.asp?FileID=105 View Online Video at Alabama Public Television]."</ref> The captain rode out Katrina on the {{convert|179|ft|m|adj=on}} cargo ship, owned by Caribbean Shipping Inc., and the ship was returned to sea six months later, using a large crane.<ref name=APTbatre/>

On September 7, the ''Hurricane Katrina Update'' for libraries affected by the storm indicated that the Bayou La Batre Public Library (then known as Mose Hudson Tapia Public Library) had been destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/hurricane-katrina-library-update-september-7/|title=Hurricane Katrina Library Update: September 7|website=American Libraries Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410180928/https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/hurricane-katrina-library-update-september-7/|archive-date=April 10, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Students from the Alba Middle School documented the destruction through a series of photos that were exhibited at various venues in Alabama and the [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] region. Some of these were published in a book titled ''Eyes of the Storm: A Community Survives after Katrina'' ({{ISBN|978-0-9789362-0-4}}).

Immediately following the hurricane a group of high school students from Sierra High School in Truckee, California adopted the city of Bayou La Batre. They sent roughly $15,000, supplies, and 15 students to help rebuild homes. Students gathered donations, sold raffle tickets, and filled their school's gym with supplies from bedding and clothes to basic household items. The school also set up a pen pal program with the students of the nearby school in Bayou La Batre.
  
In October 2005, seven weeks after Hurricane Katrina, Bayou La Batre was adopted by the city of [[Santa Monica, California]] ''(see: "[[Santa Monica Pier]]")'' to assist in clean-up activities.<ref name="smgov">
   "News Release - 10/20/2005 - City of Santa Monica" (help
   after Hurricane Katrina), [[Santa Monica, CA]], 2005, webpage:
   [http://www.smgov.net/news/releases/archive/2005/cmo20051020.htm SMgov-news-051020]: states "location for the Bubba Gump
   scenes in the movie "Forrest Gump"..."
</ref> The Santa Monica City Council approved loaning Bayou La Batre 18 vehicles, including six pickups, two trucks with large cranes, utility vehicles with smaller cranes, a dump truck, street sweepers, a riding lawnmower, and six chainsaws.<ref name=smgov/>  The equipment was used to help remove debris and fishing boats from downtown.