Katrina taught Mississippians caution

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - For all the lives it took when it plowed across the Gulf Coast in 2005, Hurricane Katrina may have saved some during Isaac.

Officials took lessons from Katrina and applied them to their emergency plans. Storm shelters that can house tens of thousands of people have been built across Mississippi, communication systems have been upgraded and there are more stringent building codes.

But more than anything, Katrina taught people just how bad a hurricane can be.

Donald Langham, emergency operations director for coastal Jackson County, says people "are much more aware of what can happen."

Brenda Johns lost nearly everything when Katrina destroyed her house in Long Beach.

She wasn't taking any chances with Isaac even though it was weaker. She packed up and evacuated.