Hurricane Camille - Aftermath

Aftermath

The response after the storm involved many federal, state, and local agencies and volunteer organizations. The main organization for coordinating the federal response to the disaster was the Office of Emergency Preparedness, which provided $76 million (1969 USD, $403 million 2005 USD) to administer and coordinate disaster relief programs. Food and shelter were available the day after the storm. On August 19, parts of Mississippi and Louisiana were declared major disaster areas and became eligible for federal disaster relief funds. President Richard M. Nixon ordered 1450 regular troops and 800 United States Army Engineers into the area to bring tons of food, vehicles, and aircraft.

Major organizations contributing to the relief effort included the Federal Power Commission, which helped fully return power to affected areas by November 25, 1969. The Coast Guard (then under the Department of Transportation), Air Force, Army, Army Corps of Engineers, Navy, and Marine Corps all helped with evacuations, search and rescue, clearing debris, and distribution of food. The Department of Defense contributed $34 million (1969 USD, $180 million 2005 USD) and 16,500 military troops overall to the recovery. The Department of Health provided 4 million dollars towards medicine, vaccines and other health related needs.

On Monday, the Air National Guard and those at Keesler Air Force Base airlifted patients to Jackson and other more inland locations. Volunteers searched for those injured and dead, as well as helping refugees. When many of the evacuees returned by Tuesday, Governor John Bell Williams declared martial law, blocking highways into the area and leading to a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. The governor also opened Camp Shelby, dormitories within the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Robert E. Lee Hotel to serve as shelters for those who lost homes. Sections of Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian were evacuated. Survivors were found for days after the storm, with 35 trapped by high water north of Bay St. Louis rescued on Thursday. Army engineers disposed of 25 tons of dead animals, mostly cows, during the week following Camille. One week after the storm, Keesler-based air planes sprayed malathion at low altitudes to kill the thriving insect population. Martial law would be lifted on August 27. The federal and state military presence would continue for several weeks. During the evening of September 8, President Nixon visited the Biloxi-Gulfport Regional Airport and gave a speech to elevate the spirits of local residents struggling with the storm's aftermath. During the rebuilding process, stricter building codes were enforced by local governments. In 1973, hurricane hunters and their associated reconnaissance aircraft relocated to Keesler Air Force Base when their previous headquarters at Ramey, Puerto Rico, closed.

Long-term redevelopment was overseen by the Department of Commerce, which contributed $30 million (1969 USD, $159 million 2005 USD) towards planned and coordinated redevelopment of affected areas.

The devastation of Camille inspired the implementation of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. After the storm, many Gulf Coast residents commented that hurricane warnings were not clear enough in conveying the expected intensity of the coming storm. The Saffir-Simpson scale offered a much more concise statement of storm intensity than barometric pressure and wind-speed measurements, and veterans of previous hurricanes could analogize the power of the approaching storm to those they had experienced.

In a 1999 report on Hurricane Camille sponsored by the NOAA Coastal Services Center, the authors concluded: "With Camille, the preparations for the event and the response were based on processes put in place long before the storm made landfall. Coordination between government agencies as well as with state and local officials was enhanced because of preexisting plans."

One small compensation was that recovery from flood damage in Nelson County, Virginia led to the discovery of the Ginger Gold apple in the orchards of Clyde Harvey.