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It was one of the most intense hurricanes in the history of the Gulf. 

KHOU-TV

The Acres Grocery sign is a reminder of Hurricane Rita's power.

This time last year Hurricane Rita was bearing down on Houston. 

We all breathed a sigh of relief when she weakened and made landfall to the east.

Residents there are still seeking relief as the rest of the world focuses on Katrina.

At Tammie’s Old Time Diner, time seems to evaporate in the mid-day rush and at one table, if you didn’t know better, you might think you were overhearing a debate on the virtues of two scandalous women.

“Everything you hear on the news is Katrina.  People realize that Rita did some damage, too,” said Mike Olson, Sabine Pass resident.

Beyond the diner, it’s as though Rita stopped time in its tracks for the residents of Sabine Pass.  It’s been a whole year.

“And yeah, we ain’t got nowhere.  Can’t get no money.  Can’t get no help,” said storm victim Maurice Nini.

By nature, Nini isn’t an angry man, but put yourself in his shoes.

There was a three bedroom house, but after weeks in a tent, “I guess I’ve lost everything already anyway, so if I lose what’s in there, it ain’t going to matter anyway,” he said.

Then, after months in a cramped FEMA trailer, “It just makes me plum friggin’ aggravated,” Nini said.

Aggravated by what he perceives as a lack of response by the government.

“And I’ll say it to the camera.  The only work we got out here, we got through the churches.  We ain’t got nothing through the government yet.  We ain’t got nothing through the government.  Everything has come from the churches,” said Nini.

It was a recurring theme 11 News encountered during a recent visit to the area.

“I’ve been just dealing with church organizations.  It’s not just my house.  They’ve been doing a lot of homes here,” said Olson.

Olson didn’t lose his home altogether; the floor was buckled all the way from the window to the kitchen.

He did lose something infinitely more important.  Although unrelated to the storm, his father passed away at around the same time Rita passed through.

“It was kind of devastating.  I always looked up to him.  And he’s not around to help me get through all the situations.  So it was hard for me.  It’s been a tough year emotionally.  Emotionally for everybody,” Olson said.

Sabine Pass came just about as close to getting wiped off the face of the earth as you can get.  Even now, a year after the storm, it still resembles a war zone.  In fact, throughout much of the Port Arthur area, the emotional and economic toll lingers.

Port Arthur estimates a full 10 percent of its residents fled Rita, never to return.

“We don’t know if Raymond and Sue were among them,” said one resident about some neighbors.

And although there’s precious little left to protect we do know the owner of Acres Grocery is at least going through the motions. 

“We’ve red-tagged over 700 buildings in Port Arthur.  That is 700 to be demolished,” said Mayor Oscar Ortiz.

That’s 700 buildings in a town of just 60,000 people.  All around Port Arthur, roof tops are covered with bright blue tarps, but any real solution to the problem will have to come in the color green.

“The bottom line:  it always seems to get back to money.  Money, money, money.  You can’t do anything without spending more money,” said Ortiz..

Especially when you’re taking in less money.  With so much damage, home values are down and so are property taxes.  Same goes for sales tax.

“Claire’s Accessories was damaged too.  They’re down.  Here’s another one over here that’s down, I forget what that one was.  Jim’s Jewelry got damaged badly and they’re still down,” said Ortiz.

At Central Mall, several retailers are still struggling to reopen a year after the fact, including the anchor store, Dillard’s.

“The economic impact is just overwhelming.  Oh, we lost millions of dollars just in sales tax,” Ortiz said, “We’re between a rock and a hard place.”

A place Nini understands all too well.

If anybody thinks God can’t take it all away from you in a day, he can.  Don’t ever think he can’t. So be blessful for what you got,” said Nini.

Before Rita hit, Port Arthur’s mayor says the city spent $1 million out of its now dwindling reserves to assist Katrina evacuees, and that it’s still waiting to be reimbursed by the federal government.