A Child of Katrina Remembers Who Saved Him

At age three, Rodney Lomax was stranded for five days living on an interstate overpass near the New Orleans Superdome with his grandmother and neighbors after the levees broke, which flooded his home following Hurricane Katrina.

His grandmother, Rhonda Lomax, shielded him from what horrors she could. In the wake of the storm, she made sure her grandson received therapy and proper support as he began to show signs of posttraumatic stress syndrome. Twenty years later, Rodney still remembers the fear he felt in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina—as well as the protection and love that saved him.

Photojournalist Kathleen Flynn first met Rodney and Rhonda on the interstate overpass in 2005. She reconnected with them in 2010 and has produced several stories about their lives since.