hurricane isaac

1. The first LaPlace exit if you're heading north on I-10 from New Orleans. No, it's not supposed to be underwater.

2. Lots of fallen fences. Even concrete ones.

3. Power is still out for some people. That's over a week, people. You don't know how much you need it until it's gone for extended periods. Especially in the 94* with 90% humidity weather down here. Also, I just thought this sign was so redneck and awesome.

4. Jaime and Jason's street in LaPlace. This is Saturday, four days after the hurricane passed through. Their across-the-street neighbor had two feet of water.

5. Our apartment complex. The tree's hiding it, but that whole side of the building is covered by a tarp. This isn't our building. The worst we got is a water stain in one of the corners. Our friend Andy, though, wasn't so lucky. Half of his ceiling fell in and the outside walls are covered in black mildew spots. And he was on the second of three floors.

6. Every street is lined with ripped up carpet and ruined furniture and lots and lots of junk. This family (another neighbor of Jaime and Jason's) told us that the plywood board had been in the garage through all five of those enormous storms, and nothing had happened. Isaac ended their success story. 

7. When we walked into Jaime and Jason's house on Saturday morning, we couldn't really tell there was anything wrong, aside from a strong mildew scent. As soon as we stepped on the carpets and rugs, however, we knew they were in trouble. I left our hurricane preparedness plastic bag on the floor of their kitchen, and inside was our last working flashlight, filled with nasty water. Someone told us it was Category 3 water-- lake water, rain water, and sewage. Gross. 

8. Trees much larger than this fell everywhere, their most notorious location on top of houses. Enormous amounts of rain soaked the earth and then winds pulled trees six feet around straight out of the ground (okay, slanted). 

Everyone in Louisiana refers to before-Katrina and after-Katrina when speaking about time. Before Isaac I thought everyone was just making a huge deal out of a big deal. Obviously I still don't really understand, but this gave me a little better of an idea. After a storm like this, even just a Category 1 hurricane, things get chaotic. On Monday, we bought a $5.00 gallon of milk at Walmart, and there was no meat or eggs. When we drove into Kenner for the first time after the storm, nobody had power. That is an eerie feeling.

 

It just doesn't feel like real life.