Rural Louisiana Is Still Reeling From Ida

U.S.|New Orleans is coming backmost from Ida, but agrarian Louisiana is inactive reeling.

• Sept. 10, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET

Christine Verdin received galore photos from friends and household of the demolition Hurricane Ida brought to the agrarian assemblage of Pointe-aux-Chenes, which runs on a bayou southwest of New Orleans.

But the images could not hole Ms. Verdin, who serves connected the assembly of the Pointe-au-Chien tribe, for the grade of the harm she recovered determination this week.

“There are nary homes,” said Ms. Verdin, who grew up successful Pointe-aux-Chenes and lives nearby. Dozens of houses successful the agrarian assemblage were destroyed beyond habitability, with walls caved successful and roofs taken cleanable disconnected the top.

Seventy miles distant successful New Orleans, evacuees person been steadily returning this week arsenic powerfulness was mostly restored. Businesses are reopening, and families are preparing to nonstop children to schools erstwhile they unfastened adjacent week.

But successful agrarian areas southbound of the metropolis that were deed hardest by the storm, the betterment signifier has hardly begun.

In Terrebonne Parish, wherever Ms. Verdin lives, 100 percent of customers stay without power, according to Entergy, the area’s main utility. In different adjacent parishes, 5 percent of customers person had powerfulness restored. It volition apt beryllium weeks earlier residents volition spot powerfulness restored; successful immoderate areas, the electrical web volition person to beryllium wholly rebuilt, according to Entergy.

Gov. John Bel Edwards volition question to Terrebonne Parish connected Friday to measure the damage. Some areas stay nether boil h2o advisories. Debris, trees and downed powerfulness lines clutter the roads. Obtaining basal necessities similar food, crystal and gasoline remains a persistent challenge.

In coastal parishes, astir residents tin rattle disconnected a agelong catalog of hurricanes they person survived. But Ms. Verdin says this 1 feels different.

“I’ve ne'er seen radical get this emotional,” Ms. Verdin said, adding that rebuilding is simply a daunting imaginable for galore who deficiency homeowners’ security due to the fact that of precocious premiums. One of her household members whose location was destroyed, an uncle who is 78 years old, told her helium did not person the vigor oregon resources to rebuild.