in other places, recovering from the damage has been a matter of determination. and maybe a bit of stubbornness. the fox report has our chief correspondent on the biloxi coast with an example. >>reporter: there is a restaurant here called mary mahoney's been here for decade part of the fabric of the city. like biloxi, the restaurant has come a very long way since the fateful day when the wind whipped waters of the gulf came crashing through the second-store window. >> it felt like five linebackers hitting me at once. >>reporter: he felt the full force of hurricane katrina. >> it knocked me back about 15' with cuts all over me. reporter roar the damage was all too obvious when he appeared on the o'reilly factor days after. >> it was devastating. it looked like atomic bomb hit.