Search - Hurricane Katrina - Battle at the Beachfront on DVD

Awesome Katrina Storm Chase DVD

W. Hark | Virginia | 09/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this anniversary of the second landfall of Hurricane Katrina, I had the opportunity to watch Mike Theiss' and Jim Reed's DVD documenting the two landfalls of Katrina. The first section shows the surprisingly strong winds and flooding during the initial landfall at Miami Beach/Ft Lauderdale. There is also flooding in Homestead, Florida. The main part of the DVD shows the wild winds and 28 foot storm surge in Gulfport. Jim Reed and Mike Theiss shot some amazing video of the high winds and rapidly rising storm surge. This is the famous footage shown on MSNBC of the Gulf of Mexico waters against the glass doors of the hotel, then rushing into the lobby along with a floating car. They have to flee upstairs from the rising flood waters and imbedded debris. If you are a hurricane chaser, don't show this to loved ones as they may become too worried and fuss the next time you go chasing! As an added feature, there is the Theiss-Device video. This encased waterproof camera was originally designed for tornadoes but took some amazing eye level video of the storm surge coming in on the first floor. The camera is washed away and floats with other debris in the surge (still taking video). This is an amazing perspective that couldn't be safely done by a person. There is also a great scene of water coming upwards in a stairwell. As quick as the surge comes in, the waters recede.
Bonus features include a slide show of more surge scenes and resulting damage with mainly Jim Reed's award winning photography. There is also an examination of the Theiss-Device storm camera and "deleted scenes" of the arrival and initial documentation of the arrival of Katrina in Gulfport. The video and sound quality is great. Total length of the DVD is 76 minutes. I have already seen some of the footage on MSNBC but that doesn't compare to seeing everything in context and produced by the chasers rather than assembled by less knowledgeable media personnel.

I highly recommend this DVD for anyone interested in severe weather, flooding and hurricanes."