Hurricane Isaac Update from Lafitte Barataria

It has been a long three days and we can not begin to clean up until the water receeds.  Once again the communities of Lafitte, Barataria and Crown Point have been pounded by Hurricane winds and inundated by devastating flood waters.  The damage includes typical hurricane wind damage to roofs shingles missing down to the plywood, siding and trim damage, carport and shed damaged. Some homes have more severe wind damage such as roofs pealed off, broken windows, etc. Cars underwater and boat sunk.   Photo:  Floodwaters fill the street (photo credit Tracy Kuhns)

Residents who were lucky enough to receive funds to raise their homes, after Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, escaped the flood water damage to their homes this time.  Those who did not receive funds have lost everything, again.  

My oldest daughter and her family of 5, rent a home on Fisher Street in Lafitte and had water up to her window sills. She and her family are now without a home and lost almost all of their belongings.  My middle daughter, a single mother of three young children, had even more water in her rented home, on Gloria Drive in Lafitte and is in the same position as her sister.  We ave no where to put them.  Our family are just a few examples, out of many in our community, with similar or worse impacts. 

By building levees and storm gates to the north of us, to protect other areas, the government is causing significant increases in flooding in our communities.  Each time they complete another section of hurricane protection, for others, our flooding increases.  Water stacks up on the levees, to the north and now east, of our community and piles it up on us.  Then, to add insult to injurty, they pump all the storm water run off down on top of us.  Our community can not begin to drain until the south wind stops blowing.  

Using funds to raise homes inside the hurricane protection levees, while leaving homes outside the protection levees without funds to raise homes, is unforgivable and an unfair use of tax dollars.  NOT ONE MORE DOLLAR should be spent raising homes within the hurricane protection levee system until all homes outside, including rental properties, are raised.

Floodwater and mud inside a Lafitte home (photo credit Tracy Kuhns)

Higgins Seafood Shop/Lafitte, LA (photo credit Tracy Kuhns)

Lafitte Marsh Club Camp (photo credit Tracy Kuhns)

Tracy Kuhns is founder and executive director of Louisiana Bayoukeeper in Barataria, Louisiana, founder of the Fishing Community Family Support Center, and president of the GO FISH coalition. A shrimper, mother of 5 and grandmother of 17, Tracy is dedicated to protecting and preserving the natural resources, traditional coastal fishing life and communities of coastal Louisiana. Follow Tracy on Bayoukeeper's Posterous Updates.