'I've had enough': Louisiana family contemplates leaving after consecutive hurricanes
By
Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Oct 11, 2020 6:30 AM EST
|
Updated Oct 12, 2020 1:41 PM EST
AccuWeather’s Bill Wadell joined one family returning to their home in Lake Charles after it was damaged again by back-to-back hurricanes.
As what was left of former Hurricane Delta departed the Gulf Coast region on Sunday, AccuWeather National Reporters Bill Wadell and Jonathan Petramala surveyed storm damage and explored how storm-exhausted residents of Louisiana are dealing with the trauma of back-to-back hurricanes.
Wadell talked with one Lake Charles, Louisiana, family that is contemplating moving after their home was hit by two hurricanes in less than two months.
“We just got home from Houston, Texas, to see about our home. I’m so over it, like 2020 has been my worst year,” Trenda Simon told Wadell.
Lake Charles, Louisiana, resident Trenda Simon in front of her damaged home. (AccuWeather / National Reporter Bill Wadell)
Delta brought flooding to her neighborhood, making the roads almost impassable. The canal behind Simon’s house is also full.
Powerful winds from Hurricane Laura in late August tore apart the family's roof, so the only thing protecting their home from Delta was a blue tarp.
“I’m thinking about leaving actually. I’ve had enough. Harvey, Laura and now Delta, I’ve had enough,” Simon said.
Simon told Wadell her neighbors are still waiting for insurance claims to go through. Power was just restored two weeks ago after Hurricane Laura destroyed the town's power grid in late August.
Surveying the damage caused by Delta, Petramala spoke with residents of Cypremort Point, Louisiana, who haven't even had time to clean up from Hurricane Laura and are now starting to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Delta.
“You know you go 10 years without one [a hurricane], then all of the sudden you get three, boom, boom, boom,” one Louisiana resident told Petramala.
Joey Minvielle of Cypremort Point explained to Petramala that his garage doors were removed to let all of the water and debris flow through his first-floor. However, some debris was stuck in their basement.
“It looks like somebody's pier got washed up and landed in the living room,” Minvielle said.
Cypremort Point, Louisiana, native Joey Minvielle showing Jonathan Petramala damage left behind by Delta. (AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala)
Delta slammed into the Louisiana coastline as a Category 2 hurricane in Creole, or roughly 13 miles east of where Laura struck in late August as a Category 4 storm. The latter storm had packed winds that matched the strongest hurricane in state history. Delta made landfall only 43 days after Laura crashed onshore.
Delta became the fourth named storm of the extremely busy 2020 Atlantic season to make landfall in Louisiana. As for the residents of southwestern Louisiana, many of whom are still reeling from the aftermath of ferocious Hurricane Laura, they are facing additional setbacks in rebuilding efforts in Delta's wake.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter has voiced concerns about a lack of national attention on the “absolutely unprecedented and catastrophic” back-to-back storms, and many residents have echoed this sentiment. “We are very concerned that with everything going in the country right now that this incident may not be on the radar nationally like it should be," Hunter said, according to the Associated Press.
"We're going to need the proper federal response to this," Hunter told Wadell in an interview. "Lake Charles is going to help each other. We're going to help our friends, we're going to help our neighbors." He added that the disaster is not one just facing his community in southwestern Louisiana, and rather the two hurricanes combined to create an "American tragedy." He called on the federal government and Americans to help the hurricane-pummeled area.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Petramala and Bill Wadell.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Hurricane
'I've had enough': Louisiana family contemplates leaving after consecutive hurricanes
By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Oct 11, 2020 6:30 AM EST | Updated Oct 12, 2020 1:41 PM EST
AccuWeather’s Bill Wadell joined one family returning to their home in Lake Charles after it was damaged again by back-to-back hurricanes.
As what was left of former Hurricane Delta departed the Gulf Coast region on Sunday, AccuWeather National Reporters Bill Wadell and Jonathan Petramala surveyed storm damage and explored how storm-exhausted residents of Louisiana are dealing with the trauma of back-to-back hurricanes.
Wadell talked with one Lake Charles, Louisiana, family that is contemplating moving after their home was hit by two hurricanes in less than two months.
“We just got home from Houston, Texas, to see about our home. I’m so over it, like 2020 has been my worst year,” Trenda Simon told Wadell.
Lake Charles, Louisiana, resident Trenda Simon in front of her damaged home. (AccuWeather / National Reporter Bill Wadell)
Delta brought flooding to her neighborhood, making the roads almost impassable. The canal behind Simon’s house is also full.
Powerful winds from Hurricane Laura in late August tore apart the family's roof, so the only thing protecting their home from Delta was a blue tarp.
“I’m thinking about leaving actually. I’ve had enough. Harvey, Laura and now Delta, I’ve had enough,” Simon said.
Simon told Wadell her neighbors are still waiting for insurance claims to go through. Power was just restored two weeks ago after Hurricane Laura destroyed the town's power grid in late August.
Surveying the damage caused by Delta, Petramala spoke with residents of Cypremort Point, Louisiana, who haven't even had time to clean up from Hurricane Laura and are now starting to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Delta.
“You know you go 10 years without one [a hurricane], then all of the sudden you get three, boom, boom, boom,” one Louisiana resident told Petramala.
Joey Minvielle of Cypremort Point explained to Petramala that his garage doors were removed to let all of the water and debris flow through his first-floor. However, some debris was stuck in their basement.
“It looks like somebody's pier got washed up and landed in the living room,” Minvielle said.
Cypremort Point, Louisiana, native Joey Minvielle showing Jonathan Petramala damage left behind by Delta. (AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala)
Delta slammed into the Louisiana coastline as a Category 2 hurricane in Creole, or roughly 13 miles east of where Laura struck in late August as a Category 4 storm. The latter storm had packed winds that matched the strongest hurricane in state history. Delta made landfall only 43 days after Laura crashed onshore.
Delta became the fourth named storm of the extremely busy 2020 Atlantic season to make landfall in Louisiana. As for the residents of southwestern Louisiana, many of whom are still reeling from the aftermath of ferocious Hurricane Laura, they are facing additional setbacks in rebuilding efforts in Delta's wake.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter has voiced concerns about a lack of national attention on the “absolutely unprecedented and catastrophic” back-to-back storms, and many residents have echoed this sentiment. “We are very concerned that with everything going in the country right now that this incident may not be on the radar nationally like it should be," Hunter said, according to the Associated Press.
"We're going to need the proper federal response to this," Hunter told Wadell in an interview. "Lake Charles is going to help each other. We're going to help our friends, we're going to help our neighbors." He added that the disaster is not one just facing his community in southwestern Louisiana, and rather the two hurricanes combined to create an "American tragedy." He called on the federal government and Americans to help the hurricane-pummeled area.
Related:
Additional reporting by Jonathan Petramala and Bill Wadell.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo