Residents plead for aid after 4 natural disasters in less than a year
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jul 29, 2021 4:29 PM EDT
Lake Charles officials and families are begging for more federal aid to help people struggling after back-to-back hurricanes, a winter storm and a flood.
It's been nearly a year since Hurricane Laura slammed into Lake Charles, Louisiana -- the first of four deadly extreme weather events the city would endure, all during a global pandemic -- and the clock continues to tick as local officials continue to plea for the billions in federal aid that has been requested but has yet to be received.
“Our message is very clear: We’re pleading with the decision-makers in Washington, D.C., to realize the amount of suffering and languishing that is still taking place here in southwest Louisiana," Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell on Tuesday.
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Hunter and others in the community are starting a grassroots campaign, begging leaders in Washington, D.C., for federal supplemental disaster relief funding.
"Here we sit in Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, having endured four federally-declared natural disasters and close to a year post-Hurricane Laura. We still do not have the same response that happened 10 days after Katrina, 34 days after Andrew, 98 days after Superstorm Sandy, and it is disheartening and it’s unconscionable," Hunter said on Tuesday, 11 months to the day that the first in an "unprecedented, historic string of natural disasters" had hit the city.
Hurricane Laura was the first to strike during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, followed by Hurricane Delta. The latter had made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, but it barreled through less than a month after Laura tore through the community as a Category 4 hurricane with 150-mph winds that made it the strongest hurricane to make landfall in southwestern Louisiana since 1856. The wounds of Laura had still been fresh, the blue tarps over homes not yet replaced with sturdy roofing.
Ernest Jack moves near his home that was hit by Hurricane Laura ahead of Hurricane Delta, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Lake Charles, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Back in January, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced he was asking President Joe Biden for $3 billion to aid the state with its continued recovery from the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, specifically from Laura and Delta. A similar request was made to the prior administration, but it was left unfulfilled.
While residents had already received $250 million in federal emergency funds for housing and other needs, and the federal Small Business Administration had approved $627 million in low-interest loans, Edwards said that the assistance received was "insufficient to do everything that we need to do," according to The Associated Press.
The deep freeze in mid-February of 2021 did nothing to help to ease the city's lingering troubles. The northern half of the state had absorbed the brunt of the damage, but the temperature still dropped low enough to freeze pipes in Lake Charles. A boil advisory served as a caution for those who could access water, and the Louisiana National Guard made its round to the city to distribute bottled water, much like in other corners of the Gulf Coast facing similar conditions.
On May 18, 2021, the fourth extreme weather event in less than a year arrived at a time when residents were still rebuilding from the last three.
After months of fighting with her insurance and paying out of pocket to rebuild from two hurricanes severely damaging her home, Lake Charles resident Jennifer Smith finally had everything back.
Lake Charles resident Jennifer Smith tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that the city still needs help nearly a year after Hurricane Laura hit, followed by three more natural disasters. (Bill Wadell)
Then came the flooding rain.
The house had been whole again for only 10 days before 12-15 inches of rainfall inundated southern Lake Charles on May 17 within a 12-hour period, claiming the lives of at least five people. At the time, Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter estimated 400 to 500 structures had flooded during the downpour that had just become the third-heaviest single-day rainfall in the city's history. Smith's home hadn't been spared either.
"It was like, where do you go now?" Smith told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
Hurricane Laura had been bad, but Delta "was even worse." Smith had barely started repairs from the first storm.
A man uses a kayak to pull two children down a flooded street in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on May 17, 2021. (Twitter / @jeremybabs)
When May rolled around, bringing with it flooding rainfall that sent all of her hard-earned progress, work and spending back to square one, Smith said that "that did it" for her.
Even though her home isn't fully rebuilt, she and her family have since moved back to avoid paying a $1,700-rent each month on top of paying the mortgage for their home, plus any repairs insurance wouldn't cover. Their insurance covered only three months' worth of rent. They were without a home for over six months.
"We've been through a whole lot and still need help," Smith said, adding that many in the area still have not been able to return to their homes. "Any help would be a blessing."
This image was captured on July 27, 2021, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Four natural disasters have hit the region within the span of just a year, and residents are still waiting on billions in aid. (Bill Wadell)
Hunter said that they're asking for "the same equitable response that happened in the wakes of dozens of other singular natural disasters."
The housing need alone tops $900 million, Wadell reported, which is something that the extensive verbal support the community has thus far received doesn't quite cover.
"Everyone is supportive, everyone offers encouragement and prayers, but, quite frankly, words of support and encouragement can’t put a roof back on a struggling family’s home," Hunter said during a press conference on Tuesday. "Words of support and encouragement can’t fix the air conditioner for a disabled individual living in the August heat in southwest Louisiana. And that’s what we’re talking about."
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that communities in the Gulf Coast and East Coast should "damn well be very concerned" about how the federal government is responding. (AccuWeather / Bill Wadell)
"During the peak of summer heat, when the average high temperatures are the highest, Lake Charles averages a high temperature of 93," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. "In fact, the normal high temperature in Lake Charles is 93 all the way from July 21 to Aug. 24."
The average high temperature from June to September isn't any milder, he added. From June 5 to Sept. 15, the average high temperature is 90 degrees or greater.
"So pretty much the entire summer, it's typical for Lake Charles to see temperatures around 90 or in the lower to mid-90s," Sojda said.
When asked what message she would hope to get across to Washington, D.C., Smith echoed Hunter's words.
"The people here in Lake Charles need help. We need help," she said. "There’s so many people [who] don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t have the money to get back into their homes. So please, any help that you all can give us would help so many."
A damaged building in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after enduring four natural disasters. (Bill Wadell)
Before the rain had fallen, before the cold had frozen over their pipes and before the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Hunter said the parish had had its finances in order. Had it not, he said, they would have gone bankrupt from the totality of the events.
Considering all of this, he added one last warning.
"Every community along the Gulf Coast and the East Coast should take a look at what’s happening here and realize it could be them next year," Hunter said. "But if it doesn’t happen to Lake Charles this year, next year, it could happen to another community, and they should damn well be very concerned about the way the federal government is responding to us right now."
Reporting by Bill Wadell.
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News / Severe Weather
Residents plead for aid after 4 natural disasters in less than a year
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jul 29, 2021 4:29 PM EDT
Lake Charles officials and families are begging for more federal aid to help people struggling after back-to-back hurricanes, a winter storm and a flood.
It's been nearly a year since Hurricane Laura slammed into Lake Charles, Louisiana -- the first of four deadly extreme weather events the city would endure, all during a global pandemic -- and the clock continues to tick as local officials continue to plea for the billions in federal aid that has been requested but has yet to be received.
“Our message is very clear: We’re pleading with the decision-makers in Washington, D.C., to realize the amount of suffering and languishing that is still taking place here in southwest Louisiana," Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell on Tuesday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Hunter and others in the community are starting a grassroots campaign, begging leaders in Washington, D.C., for federal supplemental disaster relief funding.
"Here we sit in Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, having endured four federally-declared natural disasters and close to a year post-Hurricane Laura. We still do not have the same response that happened 10 days after Katrina, 34 days after Andrew, 98 days after Superstorm Sandy, and it is disheartening and it’s unconscionable," Hunter said on Tuesday, 11 months to the day that the first in an "unprecedented, historic string of natural disasters" had hit the city.
Hurricane Laura was the first to strike during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, followed by Hurricane Delta. The latter had made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, but it barreled through less than a month after Laura tore through the community as a Category 4 hurricane with 150-mph winds that made it the strongest hurricane to make landfall in southwestern Louisiana since 1856. The wounds of Laura had still been fresh, the blue tarps over homes not yet replaced with sturdy roofing.
Ernest Jack moves near his home that was hit by Hurricane Laura ahead of Hurricane Delta, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Lake Charles, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Back in January, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced he was asking President Joe Biden for $3 billion to aid the state with its continued recovery from the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, specifically from Laura and Delta. A similar request was made to the prior administration, but it was left unfulfilled.
While residents had already received $250 million in federal emergency funds for housing and other needs, and the federal Small Business Administration had approved $627 million in low-interest loans, Edwards said that the assistance received was "insufficient to do everything that we need to do," according to The Associated Press.
The deep freeze in mid-February of 2021 did nothing to help to ease the city's lingering troubles. The northern half of the state had absorbed the brunt of the damage, but the temperature still dropped low enough to freeze pipes in Lake Charles. A boil advisory served as a caution for those who could access water, and the Louisiana National Guard made its round to the city to distribute bottled water, much like in other corners of the Gulf Coast facing similar conditions.
On May 18, 2021, the fourth extreme weather event in less than a year arrived at a time when residents were still rebuilding from the last three.
After months of fighting with her insurance and paying out of pocket to rebuild from two hurricanes severely damaging her home, Lake Charles resident Jennifer Smith finally had everything back.
Lake Charles resident Jennifer Smith tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that the city still needs help nearly a year after Hurricane Laura hit, followed by three more natural disasters. (Bill Wadell)
Then came the flooding rain.
The house had been whole again for only 10 days before 12-15 inches of rainfall inundated southern Lake Charles on May 17 within a 12-hour period, claiming the lives of at least five people. At the time, Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter estimated 400 to 500 structures had flooded during the downpour that had just become the third-heaviest single-day rainfall in the city's history. Smith's home hadn't been spared either.
"It was like, where do you go now?" Smith told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
Hurricane Laura had been bad, but Delta "was even worse." Smith had barely started repairs from the first storm.
A man uses a kayak to pull two children down a flooded street in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on May 17, 2021. (Twitter / @jeremybabs)
When May rolled around, bringing with it flooding rainfall that sent all of her hard-earned progress, work and spending back to square one, Smith said that "that did it" for her.
Even though her home isn't fully rebuilt, she and her family have since moved back to avoid paying a $1,700-rent each month on top of paying the mortgage for their home, plus any repairs insurance wouldn't cover. Their insurance covered only three months' worth of rent. They were without a home for over six months.
"We've been through a whole lot and still need help," Smith said, adding that many in the area still have not been able to return to their homes. "Any help would be a blessing."
This image was captured on July 27, 2021, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Four natural disasters have hit the region within the span of just a year, and residents are still waiting on billions in aid. (Bill Wadell)
Hunter said that they're asking for "the same equitable response that happened in the wakes of dozens of other singular natural disasters."
The housing need alone tops $900 million, Wadell reported, which is something that the extensive verbal support the community has thus far received doesn't quite cover.
"Everyone is supportive, everyone offers encouragement and prayers, but, quite frankly, words of support and encouragement can’t put a roof back on a struggling family’s home," Hunter said during a press conference on Tuesday. "Words of support and encouragement can’t fix the air conditioner for a disabled individual living in the August heat in southwest Louisiana. And that’s what we’re talking about."
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter tells AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that communities in the Gulf Coast and East Coast should "damn well be very concerned" about how the federal government is responding. (AccuWeather / Bill Wadell)
"During the peak of summer heat, when the average high temperatures are the highest, Lake Charles averages a high temperature of 93," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. "In fact, the normal high temperature in Lake Charles is 93 all the way from July 21 to Aug. 24."
The average high temperature from June to September isn't any milder, he added. From June 5 to Sept. 15, the average high temperature is 90 degrees or greater.
"So pretty much the entire summer, it's typical for Lake Charles to see temperatures around 90 or in the lower to mid-90s," Sojda said.
When asked what message she would hope to get across to Washington, D.C., Smith echoed Hunter's words.
"The people here in Lake Charles need help. We need help," she said. "There’s so many people [who] don’t have anywhere to go. They don’t have the money to get back into their homes. So please, any help that you all can give us would help so many."
A damaged building in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after enduring four natural disasters. (Bill Wadell)
Before the rain had fallen, before the cold had frozen over their pipes and before the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Hunter said the parish had had its finances in order. Had it not, he said, they would have gone bankrupt from the totality of the events.
Considering all of this, he added one last warning.
"Every community along the Gulf Coast and the East Coast should take a look at what’s happening here and realize it could be them next year," Hunter said. "But if it doesn’t happen to Lake Charles this year, next year, it could happen to another community, and they should damn well be very concerned about the way the federal government is responding to us right now."
In other News:
Reporting by Bill Wadell.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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