GULF SHORES, Ala. (WIAT) Without the tourists, the money flowing along Alabama's gulf coast dried up and now many claim the BP money to get them back on their feet, has dried up as well.

Without the beaches, they didn't come. Without the tourists, the money just isn't there. Without that money, times got really tough really fast along the Gulf coast.

This Wednesday, it will be one year since the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon platform. 11 workers were killed the biggest oil spill in American history began spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

That blast began a three month ecological disaster, the effects of which still aren't completely clear.  162,000 barrels flowed into the Gulf every day.
 
That oil eventually washed ashore in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and other coastal communities.
 
The summer of 2010 was anything but sunny for hotels, restaurants, charter companies and so many others who made their living off the coast.  That oil slick washed away millions of dollars.  Money that would have kept families afloat.

While BP promised to come to the rescue of those small businesses, people on the coast say that promise is as worthless as the escaped oil.