Sandy's wrath stirs painful Katrina memories

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The chaos wrought by Superstorm Sandy, the homes tossed from their foundations and landmarks buried beneath seawater, delivered a gut-wrenching dose of deja vu for survivors of Hurricane Katrina like Joe and Gloria Robert.

Their own home flooded beneath 2.1m of salty water when the levees broke after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005, and they know all too well what their fellow Americans to the north will face: years of debris removal, cleanup, rebuilding, haggling with insurance companies, paying mortgages on homes left unlivable. And they knew they had to help.

"When you watch things like this, you relive all the memories, all the heartache," said Joe Robert, his voice cracking with emotion. He said the images of Sandy victims rummaging through what could be salvaged of their toppled and flood-ravaged homes were painful reminders of his own loss.

"I don't have any pictures of my daughter when she was little."