Terrebonne levees breach; 100,000 left at risk

Dear Editor:

Residents in Houma learned last week that despite Hurricane Ike’s path toward Texas, they were still not out of harm’s way. Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on coastal Louisiana.

Four of the five levees in Houma breached and flooding was rampant with the full strength of the storm still hours away. Potentially 100,000 residents could have flooded in Terrebonne Parish and many Houma residents are still without power thanks to Hurricane Gustav. As a result of power problems, some residents may not have even be aware of the danger of the rising water.

Voice of the Wetlands (VOW) President Tab Benoit made a siren call for the national media to capture the impact of the breached levees on Houma. “Hurricane Gustav was a direct hit on Houma and the national media didn’t cover that story,” he said. “This is a perfect example of what happens to levees without crucial wetlands protection. People need to see what’s happening down here.”

Schools in Houma, some that haven’t resumed classes since Hurricane Gustav, have opened as evacuation shelters.

The Chauvin levee has a “major” 25-foot breach and every resident south of Houma was ordered to evacuate.

Louisiana is currently losing a football field of coastal wetlands every 45 minutes – a devastating statistic for a number of reasons. This loss of coastal wetlands threatens our nation’s fishing industry, our energy infrastructure, and more urgently leaves communities including New Orleans vulnerable to complete annihilation.

This loss of 25 to 35 square miles of Louisiana’s coastline every year should be an issue worthy of a position in the national news. It is at critical times like these that the media have an opportunity to shed light on a crisis facing coastal Louisiana that most remain woefully unaware of.

VOW supporters across the nation have been working feverishly all morning sending messages urging the national media to cover this breaking news.

Rueben Williams, Houma