Elizabeth Lirette
September 7, 2017
Home and Garden!
September 7, 2017
Before hurricane season, The Times talked to several locals and many expressed concerns about evacuating for a storm because of the downward swing in the area’s economy.
Now days after Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, which caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage to Texas and Western Louisiana and which was responsible for dozens of deaths, some are changing their tune.
After seeing Harvey’s devastation, many locals said they are now more likely to leave town if a significant storm appears headed for our coast.
“There’s no way my family and I would stay if something like that was coming near here,” Houma native Max Billiot said. “It didn’t even make landfall here and we still had flooding and a ton of rain. Can you imagine if our eight or 10 inches was 30 or 40 inches? We’d have been far worse off than those poor people were. This taught me a lesson. We used to like to stay. Now, we aren’t going to do that anymore.”
Harvey was a special storm, dumping more than 50 inches of rain in some spots because of its size and slow movement upon landfall.
A study done by the National Hurricane Center this week said that similar rain would have done “catastrophic damage” to just about every state in the country.
Local officials agree.
South Lafourche Levee District General Manager Windell Curole has long warned citizens of the area’s vulnerability if the “perfect storm” hit – a slow-moving, major hurricane that would make landfall just west of the area between New Iberia and Morgan City.
And after seeing Harvey, some are starting to put stock into those warnings.
Thibodaux woman Rebecca Bileaux said she and her family have never left for a storm but added that she’s not sure that’s the best strategy anymore.
She said the stress of waiting for help while water levels begin to rise is something she wouldn’t wish on anyone – not even her worst nightmare.
“You see these people on roofs. You see these people sitting in their living rooms with water everywhere waiting for help – not knowing if they will ever be able to live in their house again,” Bileaux said. “It’s the most heartbreaking thing in the world. I just can’t stop praying for those people out there. I never want to be in those shoes. That looks like such a terrible situation.”
Houma resident and Florida native Ross Cox agrees. He said he’s evacuated for storms before and makes that decision on a storm-by-storm basis.
But Cox said he has a child on the way and that is going to affect all of his decisions going forward.
“I can handle a lot of bad situations,” Cox said. “But I don’t know that I could put my son or daughter through that. I don’t know if I could ever put a child’s life at risk and make them live in fear not knowing how bad it’s going to get. I think we’re going to be far more likely to leave.”
But while evacuation plans are being pondered for any future storms which may be in the Gulf, locals are also stopping at nothing to give back.
In Lafourche Parish, several groups have organized in recent days to gather supplies and money for those affected by Harvey.
In Terrebonne, it’s been the same, as individuals, businesses and school groups have all come together in an effort to help people in need.
Cox said he’s seen several posts on social media from community civic groups about their interest in helping after the storm.
He said he believes that willingness to help is why Southeast Louisiana is the best place in the world.
“We are always involved. The people here are like no other,” Cox said. “I wasn’t born here, but when we moved, everyone adopted us right away and have been so welcoming. And when anyone around the country needs anything, the people here jump to help. You hear stories about the Cajun Navy and I know they did great work for the Baton Rouge floods, too. That’s the Louisiana way, man. You just can’t beat it.”
People in Houston suffered some of the worst of Harvey’s wrath with some areas getting close to 50 inches of rain, if not more. Those rains have some locals re-thinking their evacuation plans should a hurricane threaten the Louisiana coast.
