The eye of Hurricane Ike made landfall September 13, 2008, devastating much of the Gulf Coast. Bridge City took a beating and six years later residents vividly remember how their lives changed that fall.
"We were going down the roads and people were just pulling out their carpet and their furniture and everything was just being pulled out to the road. And that's when it dawned on use that we really got the water," said Bridge City resident Kathy Viator.
Evacuees had to wait days until they could return home to see the damage first hand.
"You hear all theses stories on television, on the internet, things like that, then you come back and you see all that we lost. It's... I'll be honest with you, I cried. It hurt that badly," said Billy Garrett.
James Charles visits his family in Bridge City almost every month. He has lived through several hurricanes at his home in Southern Louisiana.
"It's a horrible situation to be into when you're sitting there in your house and see water pouring in and there's nothing you can do to protect your family or yourself," said Charles.
Volunteers poured into the area from across Southeast Texas, helping clean up and build back Bridge City.
"We had everybody helping out and it was really neat because the community pulled together and all of our family was with us," said Lisa Arceneaux.
Ike caused over $29 billion worth of damage nationwide but Bridge City residents say the streets of their home are back to normal.
