He Tried to Escape Katrina, but Ran Out of Gas. At the Superdome, He Saw Things Go from Bad to Worse — and Filmed it All

Shelton Alexander survived humidity, fear and sewage overflows in the stadium that sheltered 30,000

NEED TO KNOW

• Shelton Alexander, 50, is from St. Bernard’s Parish in New Orleans and witnessed the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005
• He filmed his experience sheltering inside the Superdome, the footage weaved into the Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time National Geographic documentary
• He feels that God put him on the path to be there during the natural disaster

When Shelton Alexander first purchased his mini Sony camcorder in 2004, his only intention was to record slam poetry.

But after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans in August 2005, the poet instead captured the experience of overflowing sewage, humidity and darkness in the Superdome.

Now, 20 years later, that footage lives on in NatGeo’s Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time documentary…

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