Let’s keep this thread down to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama residents who are affected by the hurricane. Use it to post info on where you are. Use it to post info about affected areas…what is inhabitable and what is not. Which roads are passable and which are not. Is your house still standing? Will you still have a job?
We’ve been in Valdosta Georgia since Sunday night waiting to be able to return home. We’ve been told that residents of Jefferson Parish will be able to return Monday morning to collect valuables but the area will not be inhabitable for at least a month. Electric service may not be restored for up to 6 months as they have to start completely from scratch.
We know that our house did not flood…the worst could be wind damage. My business is still standing with no damage…confirmed through my partner who did not leave.
BUT, my business has NO CUSTOMERS if the area is closed for that long. Therefore, I am out of business, can’t pay bills, etc. I have about $10,000 to live on which may last a few months IF I can get free lodging somewhere. I’d rather not leech off the government unless it comes down to my house having to be rebuilt…in that case, I hope the insurance companies and FEMA pay off.
Info needed…
We live in Terrytown, Louisiana near the Industry Street Canal. Does anyone know the extent of the damage there?
My business in on the Westbank Expressway in Gretna, Louisiana. Any info?
My parents are on Lumpkin Road in Carriere Mississippi. Their neighbor across the street stayed at home and when my dad called Monday morning, they answered and said that they couldn’t talk and hung up and we haven’t been able to reach them since.
My business partner lives in Gretna and stayed. As of Monday night, he and his family were alive and well and had a generator and a good supply of food. But he has been unreachable since then.
My mother-in-law lives on Oak Drive in Marrero near the corner of Barataria and Lapalco. This area floods if somebody spits in the street. Did her house float away?
For the rest of you who are stuck in a hotel somewhere, I hope you can endure this. For those of you who stayed, our prayers are with you. Let’s hope they overestimated the death toll.
Jason, you might want to check with your insurance company – while your house is uninhabitable, insurance companies will often pay a dislocation housing amount. I know ours will for up to a year.
We just moved from Terrytown a month ago to Maryland, so good luck putting your life and your business back together!
Oh, where on the Westbank Expressway is your business? I may be able to get info for you from former coworkers of my husband at the Entergy Data Center on the Westbank Expressway near Lafayette.
I’m awaiting news of a brother hiding out in Baton Rouge (who is probably OK) and an uncle and a cousin who fled St Bernard Parish early and headed north, but then tried to go back for some reason. I presume they were not allowed back and are stuck somewhere north of New Orleans. At least I hope so.
In Houston, my employer, a hospital, is within walking distance of the soon-to-be occupied Astrodome, so I’m being called in for work. I think they may be implementing the disaster plan there. I expect the next couple of weeks to be very busy.
Central Mississippi is slowly getting power back on. The power outages have been extensive across our area - estimated 80 percent of customers. Trees are everywhere. A handful of people have been killed by falling trees. The Entergy folks are concentrating on getting power back to the neediest first.
The coast is trashed. Entire communities are just gone. If people didn’t evacuate then they probably didn’t make it.
North mississippi took a fair battering too; I heard from relatives there whose power was out some 6 to 12 hours - ours was out for almost two days here in Jackson. My brother in Memphis said the storm knocked theirs out for about 3 hours.
My sister, her husband and their little girl left New Orleans on Sunday morning with very little of their belongings. My sister didn’t even pack clothes for more than two or three days - this thing took a lot of folks by surprise. Her husband is in the antique business so I am quite afraid that this thing will ruin him financially. Luckily for the family, my brother has a rental house near Oxford which they can live in. At least they can have a roof over their heads. One of the saddest things is that they left a cage of finches behind - I know that’s a small thing to be sad about, but to think of the poor things starving to death - sigh
My daughter was supposed to begin University there this week - I don’t think they will be up and running this semester. I don’t know whether to try to get her in somewhere else or just accept the fact that she can’t go to Uni this semester.
Anyway. That’s my news. Hope everyone else made it OK.
ninetywt, try emailing noah’s wishes with your sister’s address. they will be in the area soon to rescue animals. they will try to see if they can be saved.
I’ll see if I can find out about flooding in that area, if he talks to the guys again soon. They’re kind of busy, as you might expect. But this one should be a no-brainer since all they have to do is look out the window (not that there are many in the data center).
Just a note to anyone trying to see about pets left behind, unfortunately Noah’s Wish is unable to enter evacuated areas. That rules out my sister’s birds, but again that’s life.
Check www.avma.org , Ninety. They’re trying to set up a team to go to New Orleans and rescue the animals. If they get the permit they can start today. Good luck!
Everyone that fled to Baton Rouge should be safe and with power (most of them). The only downside is that the cell phone lines are hardly working.
Has anyone heard anything about Picayune, MS? A buddy of mine in Baton Rouge has a house there, and he still hasn’t heard anything. He says it’s about 75 miles from the coast. I’m looking at this map right now and it looks like it’s probably in a pretty hard hit spot.
Oh yeah, and what’s this about riots in downtown Baton Rouge? I heard downtown is now “closed?” Are these rumors or what?
I have the worst timing ever - I moved to New Orleans last Thursday, and was only there for four days before I had to leave. I’m safe now and holding down the fort here at my brother’s house in Tennessee.
I made an LJ entry about my evacuation saga, if you’d like to read it:
Logan: my friends from Picayune evacuated to Jackson and as of this morning they could get no report from down there. All of the phones are out and there are thousands of trees on all of the power lines. It will probably be another 24 to 36 hours before we get news of what it’s like in Picayune. If I hear anything I’ll post it.
