WLOX-TV and WLOX.com - Building South Mississippi Together |Gulf Shores Residents Still Rebuilding Homes Six Months After Hurricane Ivan

Gulf Shores Residents Still Rebuilding Homes Six Months After Hurricane Ivan

"It was a pretty color until Ivan got through with it," Terry Hanners says.

Hanners is talking about one of the many houses his family ownes. It's also one of the many homes they lost during Hurricane Ivan.

"As I looked at them, I realized that Ivan hit me just about everywhere he could hit me," Hanner says.

Hanners' rental property, his home in Perdido Key, and a second home in Gulf Shores were all left in shambles.

"It ripped the doors out of it, tore the walls out and just more or less tore just about everything in it up," Hanners adds.

Now, six months later, he's still working, trying to get each place put back together.

"We had to rebuild the walls and tear out all of the sheet rock, all the installation. We had to pull everything out because of all the mold and mildew."

Hanners says he's spent three months rebuilding this property, and it's still not complete.

"We still have a long way to go."

Much of the city of Gulf Shores is in the same situation. One by one, homes and businesses are being restored.

To an outsider, it doesn't look like much progress has been made. To Hanners, though, everything looks promising.

"But we've come a long way. The period of time that we had with the destruction that we had, this is a catastrophic storm, it's been amazing how quick the cities have come back."

He prays this year Gulf Shores will be spared from another hurricane that could wipe all this progress away.

By Jaimee Goad