A Christmas tree and presents used to decorate the first floor of McCormick freshman Megan Adolph’s house during the holidays.

Now the first floor is gone.

Adolph’s family gutted their house after flood waters from Hurricane Katrina destroyed the floors, appliances and walls.

“You can stand on one side of my house and see straight through to the other,” she said.

Katrina forced some students to replan their Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Some students do not have homes, and others have family members scattered across the country. These students now face celebrating the holidays in different ways than they previously have.

While workers inspect the remains of her house for mold, Adolph will spend Thanksgiving at her grandmother’s house in New Orleans.

If the house is ready to accommodate occupants during winter break, Adolph, her parents and two sisters will all move into the second story. Adolph’s room will be converted into a makeshift kitchen, and she will sleep in a room with one of her sisters.

“I’ll just be having a roommate again when I go home, too,” she said.

But Christmas might lose some of its magic, she said. The house’s upper portion is too cramped to hold a large Christmas tree.

Some of those affected by Katrina will not be able to see family or friends during the holidays.

Weinberg senior Ketica Guter, whose home in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans was submerged by flood waters, will spend Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge, La., where her mother now lives. She will divvy up her winter break between Baton Rouge and Atlanta, where her father moved.

“The normal routine of a visit home is nonexistent,” she said.