“Total devastation”: Rep. Tanner Magee shares a first-hand account of Ida destruction

Just days after Hurricane Ida hit, Representative Tanner Magee and Representative Jerome “Zee” Zeringue flew over Terrebonne Parish to access the damage left behind. He said the parish looked bad from the air, devastating, but the damage was much worse when they were able to drive through the area.

“It really made us pause,” said Magee. “All of the first responders in the more remote parts of the parishes – the firemen, police chiefs, their facilities – are almost total losses.”

Usually, these facilities are the places the responders seek shelter, but now they are uninhabitable. He said they are trying to work to get living quarters in areas like Pointe-Aux Chenes to start helping residents. 

He said the residents, like many, are nervous because there is a massive amount of loss in the area. People are worried about having enough fuel to keep generators on, and they’re worried about water and having a healthy water supply. 

Magee said they are working on getting two tankers of potable water which is a sign things are starting to move in the right direction toward recovery. They will be getting more water into the area, but Magee said it’s an all-around bad situation. He emphasized that these outer areas look a lot different than the areas more inland. 

Issues are still arising with getting resources down to the lower regions because the roads still are not clear in some areas. Despite that specific issue, they are still able to get water to residents.

“I think our message is getting through that we need help,” he said. “One bad thing was when AT&T service was down, no one really could get into contact with anybody else. Just these last couple of days, being able to call people and find out what’s going on has been helpful. People are listening and they are going to come.”

The unfortunate part about the parish’s current situation is that Hurricane Ida’s impact was widespread to other areas such as New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, the North Shore, St. Charles Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and others. Since the storm has caused a wide range of serious destruction including other areas with a higher population, people in the bayou area are getting frustrated with the little amount of publicity Houma and surrounding areas are currently receiving. Magee said there is a mindset in these larger populations that are complaining about getting energy back, when there are areas here that need to have functional hospitals, water supply, and it’s a critical situation in the bayou area. 

He said it’s a scary situation, and he has been telling people they really should not come back until the area has a hospital running because people are going to get on roofs to fix them, and they may fall off, or if they’re in the sun too long, they may get a heat stroke. He said it’s just not a good idea. “If you can stay out, stay out,” Magee said. “I understand some people don’t have a choice, but if they have the means, stay where you evacuated to.”

He wanted to let the people know that help is on the way. It is taking a while because issues such as fuel shortage are happening because of damages to refineries, and a mass amount of people rushing to get supplies. 

“There’s one thing I know, I have faith in us to come together and rebuild,” he said, “We’re pretty strong people and have been ever since we were kicked out of Canada. We are a population of people that are used to weathering storms, that’s what we do. We sing, dance, and enjoy life.”