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Pinned underwater by a piece of sheared off roofing, former Ninilchik resident Kevin O'Connor had to second guess his decision to ride out Hurricane Ike in his current residence in Bridge City, Texas.

O'Connor, 32, survived the near fatal accident, and the storm, which claimed the lives and property of so many others in the Gulf Coast, though he's been left with almost nothing.

"There's over 13,000 people without homes, there's no places for rent, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is helping people find hotels, but the ones that aren't damaged are full," O'Connor said. "The most I can hope for is that FEMA comes through. It's up in the air right now."

Relief may come from more than the goodwill of O'Connor's community and the hope that FEMA will come through. O'Connor's mother, Debra Loggins, a Ninilchik resident, has set up a donations account with Alaska USA to get her son back on his feet.

O'Connor wound up in the area through his service in the Army. He served in Kuwait and decided to stay in Bridge City even after divorcing his wife, so that he could remain close to his daughter.

O'Connor said after Hurricane Gustav caused mass evacuations of the Gulf Coast a week and a half earlier, only to result in a few rain showers in his area, he wasn't too concerned about the approach of Ike. Most of his neighbors planned to ride out the storm, as well, saying the area had never flooded.

"It's a really good community," O'Connor said. "Everyone is real neighborly, like Ninilchik, everyone knows everyone, and everyone helps each other."

That close-knit sense of community helped keep O'Connor alive through the storm. At four in the morning on Sept. 13, a neighbor woke O'Connor and his roommate. O'Connor looked out his window expecting to see perhaps water in the street, but nothing worth getting out of bed for. Instead he saw water lapping at his thigh high windowsill. He and his roommate immediately began throwing electronics as high as they could, while O'Connor through a pack of water, his combat boots, rifle and flashlight in an Army rucksack.

Not thinking, they tossed their cell phones and wallets in their pockets, a decision O'Connor said he instantly regretted when they opened the door to a flood of rushing water.

Their street had transformed into a raging river, and O'Connor's attempt to drive to safety ended within 20 feet. It took them nearly a half an hour to fight their way a half a block up the road to a church where residents had axed open the front door. O'Connor said that water covered the tops of the pews, but they were able to take shelter in the church's second story.

The next morning, with almost all their possessions having been soaked with sea water, O'Connor found his digital camera buried deep in his pack, had somehow stayed dry. He was able to take pictures of the devastation as the storm eased up and he and his roommate went back to the house.

"We lost everything below waist level, my clothes, my daughter's clothes, beds, my daughter's toys, pictures from the Army, all our kitchen and living room appliances," he said.

Eventually a friend of one of O'Connor's neighbors from a few towns over came through to evacuate people to his home, which was hooked up to a generator and stayed above the surge. He's since been living there.

With the water now receded, the cleanup is in full swing. O'Connor's landlord would like to repair the home, but without insurance, that could take time.

Despite the hardships, O'Connor was in good spirits when he spoke over the phone last Wednesday. He had just reunited with his daughter for the first time since the storm and was recovering from a cold.

"We were fortunate. We didn't get hit that bad," O'Connor said. "At least 21 were killed in our town. Some homes were completely submerged; we were fortunate to only get some water damage. You have to count your blessings."

Donations for Kevin O'Connor may be made at any of the Alaska USA Credit Unions in Kenai, Homer or Soldotna. For more information, call O'Connor's mother at 398-1157.