The terror attacks on New York City's World Trade Center towers were witnessed by New Iberia native and Franklin resident Dorothy Barlow, who lived in Brooklyn when the attacks were carried out on Sept. 11, 2001.

Dorothy Barlow still remembers looking out from her terrace in her Brooklyn home and seeing the flames from the Twin Towers.

A New Iberia native, Barlow lived in New York until she was 46 and she never imagined the way her life would change forever on Sept. 11, 2001.

The September 11 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the U.S. on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences, in addition to at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.

It is the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history and the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed, respectively.

On that morning, Barlow dropped off her foster daughter, Josephine Marrion, and went back to her car and turned on her radio. That’s when she got the news of the first attack.

“As I was listening to the radio,” Barlow said, as her voice cracked, “I hear the spokesperson on the radio… and she said, ‘Oh my God, a plane just went into the World Trade Center.’”

At first, Barlow was in disbelief, and she drove to her Linden Plaza apartments and was finally able to see what was happening 24 miles away from her home.

“I was able to see the World Trade Center from my terrace,” Barlow said. “I look from my terrace and I actually see the building on fire. I even saw it come down too.”

What came after was more disbelief for Barlow, who was concerned about what would happen to the residents stuck in the World Trade Center, pondering if they were going to survive the initial crash or not.

“I was so worried about the people and their families and what they were going through,” Barlow said. “It was terrifying. It was terrifying. And when that happened, the whole city came to a halt.”

Even 19 years later, Barlow can still visualize the sights and sounds of that day and does her best to avoid remembering the attacks.

“I don’t even put the TV on,” Barlow said. “It makes me think about that event all over again. It makes me think about the people. I actually hear the sirens all over again.

People, like Barlow, couldn’t even get money out of their banks at the time. Since then, she’s made a point to organize her life.

“Like for the pandemic that is happening, you know, things can be devastating,” Barlow said.

Now as soon as an event is on the horizon, Barlow prepares for what can and will happen next.

“I make sure I have my food, I make sure I have cash on hand,” she said. “It has prepared me for that, it (9/11) was so devastating.”

Barlow said that after the attack in New York, she was so shaken up that she would get panic attacks and was scared for her safety, which caused her to move back to Louisiana in 2002. She now lives in Franklin.

“The sirens, I couldn’t take the sirens anymore, it was giving me anxiety attacks,” Barlow said. “At the time there were safety measures and even riding the subway. I couldn’t even ride it anymore.”

The constant noise from the city that never sleeps was too much for her and she wanted to get out and away. And now, even when she’s on the highway and she hears sirens, it takes her back to that fateful September day.

“I think of that when 9/11 happened,” Barlow said. “It was just so much.”

Those events affect Barlow to this day. Though it changed her life forever, it gave her more appreciation for her life.

“You just never know what can happen,” Barlow said. “You don’t know your next minute, anything can happen.”

Now every day when she leaves her home, she lives it like it could be her last, and enjoys every second she has left on Earth.

“You never know what’s going to happen the next minute,” Barlow said.