The Ice Storm that crippled Maine in January 1998 was the worst natural disaster Don Bessey ever witnessed. Until now, that is.

Bessey, 39, of Brunswick, had been working on a Bath Iron Works assignment in Fairhope, Ala., when Hurricane Katrina was upgraded last weekend to a Category 5 storm, the worst possible. He fled to Tallahassee, Fla., on Sunday to stay with a cousin.

When he returned to Alabama on Tuesday, he saw leveled houses, toppled trees and utility poles and piers ripped from their pilings.

“I’ve never been through anything like this, that’s for sure,” he said. “Give me a nor’easter and 30 degrees below zero any day. This is ridiculous.”

Bessey said the level of destruction is unimaginable. The worst of it is just 45 minutes away from him, he said. Since he’s been back, he’s been working out of his apartment because flooding and tidal surges have prevented him from getting to his job site, where he works as a purchasing agent. Power at the site has been partly restored, he said.

He had been commuting over a bridge spanning the Mobile River. During the storm, a huge oil rig broke loose from its moorings and crashed into the bridge. Although one lane remains open, inspectors have been examining the bridge for possible structural damage, Bessey said.

A causeway across Mobile Bay that flooded is still closed, he said.

His wife and two kids back in Maine, as well as friends and relatives, have worried about him. He’s thankful he’s safe, he said. “I feel terrible for the people who’ve lost everything.”