'Our tsunami,'

Jesus Diaz looks over the concrete slab that used to be his apartment in Biloxi, Mississippi. Approximately 100 people are feared dead and estimates put the property loss at nearly $30 billion as Hurricane Katrina could become the costliest storm in US history. PHOTO: AFP

Many people were probably trapped in their homes by the ferocious wall of water.

"From the destruction I've seen, I think there'll be some people we never find," Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway said after viewing the destruction by helicopter.

Biloxi, a waterfront city of about 50,000 people, was a seafood-industry hub and sleepy summer resort for southerners early last century.

A casino as big as a football field had floated offshore before the storm. Katrina dragged it 100 yards over a seafront street and set it to rest in a parking lot.

Mary Mahoney's restaurant building on the seafront dates back to 1737. Bob Mahoney stayed inside until his faced was lashed with flying glass, forcing him to a hospital.

"I was up in the window when it hit and it was like being popped by five linebackers at the same time," Mahoney said.