I moved to lower Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana after my retirement. I chose the location because of the excellent salt marsh fishing and deep sea fishing. Coastal communities always get hit the hardest by hurricanes. Ida is the most severe hurricane to ever come ashore in the state! The worse two being Ida 2021 and Laura 2020 which hit Lake Charles.
I awoke the morning after just before sunrise. I had a good idea of the damage to the house. Shingles flying off the roof and water leaking from the ceiling was a good indication from the prior afternoon. Before crashing in my bed as the wind began to subside around 9pm, I spent most of the evening sweeping up broken glass from my three windows that face north. Ida passes just 20 miles to my east and my area had to endure 140 mph sustained wind most of the afternoon and early evening of August 29th. Chouest Marine reported gusts of 200mph and Port Fourchon gusts of 170-190mph. I was expecting to see a lot of destruction when day broke. I grabbed one of the porch chairs from inside and moved it to where it belonged and decided to watch the sunrise from there. The porch was screened and that was all blown away including the three columns in the front of the house. As I sat with my back to the rising sun, I spotted two Bald Eagles sitting atop the tallest tree in the area. I took a photo of the eagles very early with the sun just beginning to rise. That they were front lit helped me take a decent picture. They were perched atop an old Pecan tree, one of the few to survive. The wind had stripped the tree of its leaves and that helped too. Probably blown from the colony of Bald Eagles that live about 3 miles to my northwest. I think we were thinking the same thing, “what the hell happened?” The sun rose a little more and they flew off. The floor of my home is 12 feet above the ground. As I walked to the bottom of the front steps, my exit was blocked by a fallen Green Ash tree. I had to squeeze my way out. As I walked to the road in front I saw three more trees that had fallen, a Cotton Wood, Hackberry and three Water Oaks. As I looked north and south from the road I could see fallen electrical power poles and lines as well as trees blocking the road. Not much different behind the house, my big Pecan tree was laying in the bayou and the Valencia Orange tree was split down the middle. Thankfully, my Louisiana Sweet and Blood Orange trees survived as well as my Joey Avocado tree. Shingles and debris lay everywhere. The big Live Oak in my yard held up well. Not so much for my neighbor to the south whose Live Oak split down the middle. I had enough food and water to last one to two weeks. I had packed my big Yeti ice chest with a variety of food and drink options from my last trip to the supermarket. Electricity was out and would be so for the next 30 days! Hurricanes always come in the hottest part of the Summer and not having ac in sweltering heat would try any man’s soul. Laying in bed at night with perspiration dripping from one’s face makes one wonder how in the hell did people live before ac. No running water for two weeks so I used rainwater for bathing. Finding gasoline was impossible the first month.The damage was at the time hard to accept. But, I decided that I would not allow myself to be a victim. That I would approach the situation dealt to me as an adventure. By day two, the roads were cleared and emergency vehicles began to move. By day three FEMA set up one of their regional centers at the local fire station. For the next three weeks, my routine was to get to the fire station early for my ice, water and MREs(military ready to eat). The MREs were surprisingly delish. Everything from beef brisket with scalloped potatoes to pork stew, meatballs & spaghetti and fajitas. I can attest, our deployed military eats well. An army of electrical lineman invaded Terrebonne Parish. With hundreds of poles down, they did a great job restoring power and they delivered on their 30 day estimate. Lafourche Parish was hit even harder and St Charles Parish took it on the chin as well. Cable TV and the internet were out for 73 days. They couldn’t get started until the power crews were done. I have yet to watch a football or basketball game this season. I had to get my national News from my vehicle via Sirius/XM. Local News from WWL radio. Sports info from an ESPN radio station in Larose. Music was a little tougher. Somehow I found some solace in a Classic Country station Gumbo94 broadcasting out of Napoleonville. Now more than two months past Ida, things are getting back to a new normal. I had a new roof put on the house, window shortage means waiting until April/May for new windows. Ceiling and walls currently being replaced. My neighbor, Pierre, is back to hosting his last Saturday night of the month grilling. For Halloween it was trout, cobia and oysters. It won’t be long before it’s Wahoo and Tuna on the grill. This is part of the cost of living in Sportsman’s Paradise!
I awoke the morning after just before sunrise. I had a good idea of the damage to the house. Shingles flying off the roof and water leaking from the ceiling was a good indication from the prior afternoon. Before crashing in my bed as the wind began to subside around 9pm, I spent most of the evening sweeping up broken glass from my three windows that face north. Ida passes just 20 miles to my east and my area had to endure 140 mph sustained wind most of the afternoon and early evening of August 29th. Chouest Marine reported gusts of 200mph and Port Fourchon gusts of 170-190mph. I was expecting to see a lot of destruction when day broke. I grabbed one of the porch chairs from inside and moved it to where it belonged and decided to watch the sunrise from there. The porch was screened and that was all blown away including the three columns in the front of the house. As I sat with my back to the rising sun, I spotted two Bald Eagles sitting atop the tallest tree in the area. I took a photo of the eagles very early with the sun just beginning to rise. That they were front lit helped me take a decent picture. They were perched atop an old Pecan tree, one of the few to survive. The wind had stripped the tree of its leaves and that helped too. Probably blown from the colony of Bald Eagles that live about 3 miles to my northwest. I think we were thinking the same thing, “what the hell happened?” The sun rose a little more and they flew off. The floor of my home is 12 feet above the ground. As I walked to the bottom of the front steps, my exit was blocked by a fallen Green Ash tree. I had to squeeze my way out. As I walked to the road in front I saw three more trees that had fallen, a Cotton Wood, Hackberry and three Water Oaks. As I looked north and south from the road I could see fallen electrical power poles and lines as well as trees blocking the road. Not much different behind the house, my big Pecan tree was laying in the bayou and the Valencia Orange tree was split down the middle. Thankfully, my Louisiana Sweet and Blood Orange trees survived as well as my Joey Avocado tree. Shingles and debris lay everywhere. The big Live Oak in my yard held up well. Not so much for my neighbor to the south whose Live Oak split down the middle. I had enough food and water to last one to two weeks. I had packed my big Yeti ice chest with a variety of food and drink options from my last trip to the supermarket. Electricity was out and would be so for the next 30 days! Hurricanes always come in the hottest part of the Summer and not having ac in sweltering heat would try any man’s soul. Laying in bed at night with perspiration dripping from one’s face makes one wonder how in the hell did people live before ac. No running water for two weeks so I used rainwater for bathing. Finding gasoline was impossible the first month.The damage was at the time hard to accept. But, I decided that I would not allow myself to be a victim. That I would approach the situation dealt to me as an adventure. By day two, the roads were cleared and emergency vehicles began to move. By day three FEMA set up one of their regional centers at the local fire station. For the next three weeks, my routine was to get to the fire station early for my ice, water and MREs(military ready to eat). The MREs were surprisingly delish. Everything from beef brisket with scalloped potatoes to pork stew, meatballs & spaghetti and fajitas. I can attest, our deployed military eats well. An army of electrical lineman invaded Terrebonne Parish. With hundreds of poles down, they did a great job restoring power and they delivered on their 30 day estimate. Lafourche Parish was hit even harder and St Charles Parish took it on the chin as well. Cable TV and the internet were out for 73 days. They couldn’t get started until the power crews were done. I have yet to watch a football or basketball game this season. I had to get my national News from my vehicle via Sirius/XM. Local News from WWL radio. Sports info from an ESPN radio station in Larose. Music was a little tougher. Somehow I found some solace in a Classic Country station Gumbo94 broadcasting out of Napoleonville. Now more than two months past Ida, things are getting back to a new normal. I had a new roof put on the house, window shortage means waiting until April/May for new windows. Ceiling and walls currently being replaced. My neighbor, Pierre, is back to hosting his last Saturday night of the month grilling. For Halloween it was trout, cobia and oysters. It won’t be long before it’s Wahoo and Tuna on the grill. This is part of the cost of living in Sportsman’s Paradise!
