Reid Sorensen heard about a tropical storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean last weekend, but he had no idea it would turn into a deadly hurricane that would leave him and his wife stranded in Salt Lake City.

"There's a good possibility that we'll be homeless," he said. "But we're in better shape than other people."

The 70-year-old New Orleans resident traveled to Utah last week with his wife, Jewel, to train for a service mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But after the couple couldn't fly back to New Orleans Sunday, they grew concerned.

"It just built into that massive Category 5 storm," he said. "And now we're stranded here. No one can get in there. No one can see (our) home."

Sorensen wandered down- town Salt Lake City Wednesday, first to the LDS Church Office Building and then to the offices of the Deseret Morning News, hoping to find information on members of his LDS stake and updates on the area he lives in. Phone service is out, and his cell phone doesn't work.

The LDS stakes on the Gulf Coast have evacuation plans, he said, and he knows relief is coming, including plane loads of supplies from the LDS Church. His favorite part about living in New Orleans is the generosity of the people — a trait he knows will help residents pull through.

But waiting for updates and left clueless about home, church, friends and co-workers is troubling.

Sorensen and his wife have spent the past few days sitting in their hotel room anxiously waiting for news or phone calls. One of his seven children, a daughter, lives in the New Orleans area, and she was evacuated when the hurricane came closer. He recognizes pictures on the news and in newspapers, such as a flooded shopping mall and various neighborhoods. He can't return to New Orleans until Monday, when the government has authorized him to fly home briefly to survey the damage. After that, he'll evacuate for at least a month.

"I hope to go and get the important stuff (like genealogy records and family photos) that's in my house," he said. However, "If the house is flooded, that stuff will be gone."

The Sorensens live in an older neighborhood in New Orleans, in a suburb called Metairie. Both are originally from Utah, Reid from Mayfield and Jewel from Gunnison, The couple moved to Louisiana in 1958.

"We came there from Utah with two little kids, and we still live there," he said. "We fixed it up real nice for me and my wife. I'm a little bit nervous to see what we're going to run into."

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com