I've been to Bolivar over a dozen times for a week long stay. Go there with my inlaws who are from the Golden Triangle.
We have great family memories there and it pains me to see this. Nothing like getting up early and driving to the Big Store to get your newspaper, reading it on the deck, sweating outside during the day on the beach, then heading to the Stingaree for ice cold beer and fresh seafood. My family was there exactly 30 days ago.
That said, I'm not surprised at the devastation in fact I'm surprised that there are still some structures standing. We were there in 2005, 24 hours before Katrina hit New Orleans. As we stood and watched the raging surf that Sunday before we left, I stood at 5 ft. above sea level, looked around and imagined what it would be like if a monster storm hit the place with a huge wall of water. Nothing to stop it.
Never imagined it would happen during my lifetime but here we are.