3 Months After Katrina, Some in Mississippi Feel Overlooked

GULFPORT, Miss., Nov. 30, 2005 — -- For more than 80 miles along Mississippi's coast, the devastation is still stunning three months after Katrina hit. Millions of tons of debris have been hauled away, but little has been rebuilt.

Large sections are still off-limits, thousands of people are living in trailers or tents, and in Waveland, the medical clinic is a tent and the waiting room is a school bus.

"Mississippi continues to be forgotten, yet Mississippi has the highest need," said volunteer Elizabeth Gallup. "Mississippi is now a third world country."

While most of the schools have reopened, at Waveland Elementary School, only 37 percent of the kids have returned. Those in attendance get special counseling to help them cope.

"There's destruction all around them," said the school's principal. "Their surroundings are pretty grim."

Some people, like Gulfport police officer Leonard Papania, cannot afford to rebuild because they did not have flood insurance.

He and his family are now living with his wife's grandmother. His insurance company paid him only $600 for the contents of his home.

"It's daily battles," he said. "Battling with the insurance company. Playing phone tag with the adjusters, calling all the hotlines for FEMA."

Another obstacle: New zoning rules have not been finalized, and they could change.

The casinos that had been allowed only on barges will now be permitted on land so they don't wash away again. Until they and other businesses start paying taxes, money is short.

Gulfport's Fire Station 7 now operates out of a trailer.

"We gotta have help from the outside," said fire Chief Pat Sullivan. "The federal government has to come in and say, 'Yes we're gonna do something. We're going to help you put this firehouse back together.'"

To find more money, Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr today visited the Chicago City Council, which handed him a check for $500,000.

"The cleanup is going to cost a lot more than we have now or than we had in our own funds, and so we're still waiting on FEMA to send in more," Warr said.

In the meantime, there are signs of progress. Resident Jimmy Wetzel says he is determined to rebuild.

"I think it's part of my task in life that I must build back and help this Gulf Coast get back to where it once was," he said.

But normal is a long way off. The last of Gulfport's shelters is scheduled to close this week. But most of the people will be moving into tents.

ABC News' Bob Woodruff filed this for "World News Tonight."