Jason Kane weathered Hurricane Ida at Crown Point, located south of New Orleans, and although the water did not enter his home, which is 2 meters (8 feet) above ground level, he did see the wind rise. it carried metal roofs, fences and other types of debris.
“It was crazy,” Kane commented. “I mean, I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
Kane had parked both of his vehicles on high ground away from his home. On Tuesday morning, he went to check them out, rowing a boat as far as he could, and then continued on foot. Both had flooded and neither started.
“I guess I’m not going anywhere,” he pointed out.
While New Orleans largely avoided catastrophic flooding during the storm, many smaller communities were not so lucky. About half of the properties on Grand Isle – a narrow barrier island that received full force from Ida’s winds on Sunday – were badly damaged or vandalized. The main road was covered almost entirely with storm surge sand, and all utility poles were leaning or had fallen.
Residents of LaPlace, located along the west side of Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, took refuge in the second floors or attics of their residences and took to social media to call for rescue as the level rose. water around it.
An Associated Press reporter who flew over the area Tuesday with Gov. John Bel Edwards saw a completely devastated landscape: trees being uprooted and falling on homes, buildings with collapsed or roofless roofs, flooded streets, and all. residents’ belongings scattered on the courtyards.
On Monday, trucks and boats began arriving in the region to save the population. Among those rescued was Debbie Greco and her family, including her elderly parents, who took cover on the landing of a staircase as Ida dumped 4 feet (1.2 meters) of muddy water into their home.
“God blessed us because we all survived,” he commented.
Other residents reached dry land wading through knee-deep water while carrying their pets or other belongings.
Robert “T-Bob” Dampier of Marrero was one of the local volunteers with boats who volunteered to help with search and rescue efforts Tuesday.
“They’re here on top of your house, on the roof or whatever,” he commented. “I have a boat. I am willing … If it were the other way around, you would expect someone to do the same for you. ”
Vincent Ochello and Evan Michel have toured the community of Lafitte – located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away from New Orleans – by boat to check on their neighbors.
They have both gone house to house to check on those who stayed and did not evacuate. Michael drives the boat through the flooded streets and Ochello broadcasts what he sees on Facebook.
“I have broadcast live, going to everyone’s houses,” Ochello said.
New Orleans’ levee system – which was bolstered with an investment of billions of dollars after being damaged by Hurricane Katrina – withstood Ida’s fury. The meteor made landfall on the 16th anniversary of the Katrina passage, which devastated the city and was credited with 1,800 deaths in 2005.
But at LaPlace, a levee project has only just begun, scheduled for completion in 2024.
Meanwhile in Lafitte, even houses on stilts were flooded and residents had to use boats to navigate the streets and remove their belongings. And in Houma, a city of about 30,000 people southwest of New Orleans, Ida’s winds tore the roofs off businesses, apartment complexes and homes. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, after houses were reduced to rubble. The ships were stacked on top of each other.
The governor noted that local, state and federal boats, high-water vehicles and aircraft rescued hundreds of people.
Many of the houses that were not flooded or suffered other damage were still without power, and authorities warned that it could be weeks before service is restored.
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Reeves reported in LaPlace, Louisiana. The Associated Press journalists David J. Phillip in Lafitte, Louisiana; Kevin McGill in New Orleans; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Julie Walker in New York; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia, and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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