Foundation for TGMC awards local businessman
July 23, 2019
Tropical development possible this week, impacts not expected to be felt locally
July 23, 2019
For many in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, Hurricane Barry brought little to no damage. Most people from the area continued their regular routine following the storm: work, school, gym, home, etc.
Unfortunately for owners Lisa and Eddie Mullen of PAC Kayak Rental in Pointe-aux-Chenes, Barry took away their normal routine, as the storm virtually destroyed their entire business as it passed through the area.
“We were expecting slight flooding, but nowhere near what we got hit with,” said Amanda Ekiss, owner of PAC Shack, restaurant and neighboring business to PAC Kayak. “Down here, I’m the only person that’s left standing; everything else is completely wiped out. Next door to us [PAC Kayak], all that’s left is a cement slab. There’s nothing left of it.”
Ekiss continued to describe how the 12 feet of water the hurricane brought in rushed through so furiously that it was able to move campers, a 1,000-gallon gas tank, buildings and almost everything else within the reach.
She said the hardest part, besides having to rebuild and restore what Barry did to her restaurant, was seeing people from the community downplay the storm, not realizing how badly it affected people in Pointe-aux-Chenes.
“…Some people in the community were saying ‘Y’all scared us watching the news,” and ‘This was nothing,’” Ekiss said. “And that’s hard because when we look outside, we’ve got nothing and they’re high and dry. People are not aware of how bad it actually got here.”
However, both Ekiss and Lisa Mullen acknowledge that many in the community have been showing their support for them and their businesses as they try to recover in the wake of Hurricane Barry.
They had supplies, such as food and water, brought to them by pirogue due to road closures. The Backpacker, the Louisiana outdoor store, hosted two “Ride the Bull Pre-Parties” fundraisers to raise money for PAC Kayak.
“We have had a whole lot of people that have called us, wanting to help and donate their time,” said Lisa Mullen. “We appreciate all the support and the love we’ve had from the community.”
Donations to PAC Kayak can be made on their website: packayakrental.com.
“You have all become our family and we love each and every one of you. We have a long stressful road ahead of us, but with help, prayers and God’s will, we will do everything in our power to once again be the caretakers of your marina,” reads a statement by the Mullens posted on PAC Kayak’s Facebook page. “It won’t happen overnight. There is a lot to do even before we can begin to rebuild. But it will happen.”
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Reasons for the Flooding, and Future Protection of Pointe-aux-Chenes
“In the Montegut and Pointe-aux-Chenes area we saw tidal surges of over 9 feet against the levees in Terrebonne Parish,” said Reggie Dupre Jr., the Executive Director of the Terrebonne Levee & Conservation District (TLCD). “This was greater than or equal to [hurricanes] Ike and Rita – the worst we’ve seen in modern history.”
Dupre explained that when a storm’s eye passes over the Morgan City area, like Barry did, it’s the worst-case scenario for tidal surges in Terrebonne Parish. Dupre noted, however, that no levees breached during Barry, but there was some overtopping.
“There is a huge difference between overtopping and breaching,” he explained. “Breaching is levee failure. Overtopping means water came over the design of the levee.”
“So, we saw significant overtopping of the J2 levee (levee in the Montegut/ Pointe-aux-Chenes area],” Dupre continued. “…The overtopping of J2 was able to take enough energy of out of the tidal surge and reduce it enough where the parish drainage levees were able to hold.”
No areas under the supervision of the Terrebonne Levee & Conservation District flooded, including the northern area of Pointe-aux-Chenes, Dupre said.
“The southern part of Pointe-aux-Chenes flooded from Lafourche Parish. In other words, the part of Morganza to the Gulf between Pointe-aux-Chene and Cut Off is called Reaches K and L to Morganza,” Dupre said. “For Reach K, a contract was just completed by South Lafourche Levee District, which involved dredging about six and a half miles of Grand Bayou. All you had on Reach K was raw dredge material, no levee. So, that raw dredge material overtopped and breached in a few areas on the Lafourche side of Pointe-aux-Chenes, which caused water to flood the southern half of Pointe-aux-Chenes.”
TLCD, SLLD and the North Lafourche Levee District (NLLD) are currently in talks to quickly enhance the flood protection in the Pointe-aux-Chenes area in two ways, which Dupre credits Terrebonne Parish President Gordon Dove for creating.
For the first plan, SLLD are taking quotes to try to get the dredge material in Reach K shaped as soon as possible.
For the second plan, the levee districts are in talks to build a redundant levee system that runs from Oak Pointe in lower Pointe-aux-Chenes until it reaches better elevation locations in middle Pointe-aux-Chenes.
“It’s a very bold plan,” said Dupre. “But it’s being worked on by the two parish governments and with assistance from the three levee districts.” •
