“When the water started coming in, I know it was the one we’d been waiting for,” recalled Louis Pomes quietly, leaning against his truck and surveying his battered lifelong hometown of St. Bernard Parish, La. He had been expecting a colossal storm like Hurricane Katrina for most of his adult life, but the storm was even more devastating than anyone could have predicted. “The water was coming up quick–it came up like seven feet in 15 minutes.” See photos here.

Pomes (PO-mez), 43, is a dedicated livestock owner who has worked for the parish government’s Department of Public Works and the Sheriff’s office for 23 years. Regardless of his reluctance to accept any credit and despite his own devastating losses, Hurricane Katrina made Pomes a rescuer, a helper, and a hero to countless parish residents and horse owners.

At about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 28, after calling fellow employees in the front office of the Public Works building and not receiving a response, Pomes struggled to get to the building to check on his co-workers