Before Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf coast on August 29, 2005, this was the standard against which all storms were measured.
LINK
http://www.wlox.com/story/3616...mille-48-years-later

People say Camille caused more deaths in 2005, than in 1969. People who stayed safely in their homes during Camille, thought they were safe from the storm surge of Katrina and sadly lost their lives.

Camille was huge.
I remember the media coverage.

Seems to me there was a story of a bunch of people who didn't evacuate who held a big party and they were all killed.

I was 14 at the time and remember it well.

The above referenced party showed before and after pics of the building with only the foundation left after. IIRC, the party was on the 3rd or 5th floor in a corner unit.
Also many crypts were blown open and there was difficulty discerning those from the storm fatalities.

I was in the Vapors bar in Gulfport Mississippi when Camille was about to hit, we left when they shut down the bar and headed east, lower side of the highway was closed due to high water, rain was so hard that you could only see a car length ahead. Went back a week later, Vapors was gone, just a slab. Helped a friend clear his beach at Point Clear, sections of pier and boards stacked up 15 ft high. Places on the causeway between Spanish Fort and Mobile blown away, lots of beer all over the place from Argeros (place that sold lots of beer) we picked up full 6 packs , enough to fill a bunch of ice chests.

A colleague, an Air Force Surgeon at the time, rode it out on the second floor of his house. Said it was his worst mistake. I was 90 miles north of the coast and it was no picnic, but at least no storm surge for me.

Went down there 1 month later. I have never seen a bombed city, but now I know what it would look like.

Unbelievable!

RMD