So I went to work Sunday and Monday normally like I do every work week, then worked from home on Tuesday because work finally had decided to shut down because Isaac was coming and people needed to prepare themselves, their families, and their homes. Wind speeds had already started rising on Tuesday night. A lot of people decided to stick this one out. Everyone I knew and pretty much asked was staying to ride it out. People loaded up on everything from generators and flashlights to non-perishable foods and gas. Everyone was in a state of panic because Isaac was expected to hover over us for a couple of days instead of blowing right thru. On Wednesday morning, real early, a transformer blew somewhere by our condo and the power went out. It was super windy and rainy. In other neighborhoods in my city, water started to rise immediately starting on Wednesday. The water here had already been high due to it raining so much over the last couple of months. It was okay for the most part at my place on Wednesday, but my parents neighborhood began to flood because their house sits on a canal leading to the Pearl River. They had to go to higher ground (a neighbors house) at one point because the water came up too fast in such a short amount of time and they didn't have a chance to drive out. We all thought for sure their house was flooded, yet again, but in the end luckily it had not and we are very thankful for that.
I was puzzled on Wednesday as I thought we would experience the same thing because we also sit across the street from a canal that leads to Lake Pontchartrain, but we didn't. For the most part it really wasn't that bad with no ac because the wind was blowing and the clouds above and rain had prevented it from getting super hot. Thursday came and it was a whole other story. The water started rising really quickly in our neighborhood. We have a raised condo thats about 5 feet off the ground and the water probably rose 3 feet in just a couple of short hours. The water had to first rise in the lake, up the canal and then across the street so you can only imagine how much water that really was. I got really scared and had a few panic attacks. Thursday night the water kept rising and I freaked out prompting Ian to get up every hour to check the water level. And as you can imagine the furbabies were not happy campers throughout the whole ordeal.
On Thursday the water slowly but surely started to recede, but it was super hot that night with no breeze pushing thru the windows we left open. We could not get out of our neighborhood until early Friday morning to go get my car that we parked at a good friend of my dads house. Ian's car luckily made it thru the storm because we parked it at an abandoned house's driveway down the street. We then didn't get power back until Sunday at around 5 pm. It was a hot and miserable experience. I was also super worried for the furbabies because it was hot. We wound up getting a generator from my parents so we could run a small ac unit and fan for Saturday and Sunday, but that was due to the fact that my parents were afraid of it flooding because the river they live by was having problems containing water after the storn and was expected to flood the areas surrounding it (we would have got to borrow the generator regardless).
All in all, this was a horrible experience that I do not want to relive again. Everything from the power going out in the 90 degree weather and worrying constantly if we were going to get flooded, to worrying about my parents and watching the furbabies suffer. It was awful, but it could have been worse. Slidell, which sits 30 minutes North of New Orleans and where I live got its butt kicked during this storm, but other areas that were affected got it much worse. The small town of Braithwaite that sits Southeast of New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish was totally destroyed and the city of Laplace which sits directly West of New Orleans was hit really bad. They didn't stand a chance. So like I said it could have been much worse for us and I am so thankful that it wasn't. But it is funny how the government spent so much time and money worrying and putting all effort into the levees in New Orleans (which held up for the most part), forgetting that there are many surrounding areas that need attention also. Maybe next time everyone can be better prepared and all areas will be well equipped and ready. People down here are also not happy with the way the recovery process has been going in terms of getting electricity fixed and power back on or even the way FEMA and the insurance companies are handling the assistance effort, but I will not even go there because that will take up a whole post in itself because I have a very strong opinion about all that.
And, for all the people saying 'well, why do these people rebuild or even go back time after time, they are so dumb' I have news for them. Most of the people, unlike me, were born and raised in this area. This is their home and will always be their home. If it wasn't for them a lot of people would not get to enjoy things like seafood in their restaurants or grocery stores or even have gas for their cars. Southeast Louisiana is filled with a enormous amount of hardworking people who work their butts off to give the rest of the country things that they would never be able to get if it weren't for them. Do you tell people in Colorado they are dumb for rebuilding or moving back after a wildfire rips thru their house or do you tell the people in tornado alley that they are dumb for wanting to return after their house gets blown away? No you don't because its common courtesy not to make these rude and inconsiderate comments and you don't have to live in these areas so what's your beef? People really anger me and its times like these that bring the worst out of people when all these people who are affected really need is kind words and support. Okay, that is the end of my rant.
On another note, my brother has been with his National Guard unit since the beginning of the storm on disaster standby and after the storm was down helping rescue people from their homes in some of the areas really affected by Isaac. Let's just say I am one proud sister! And, couldn't be any happier to call him my brother. In my eyes he is a true hero and I am so happy he had the chance to help people!
I also wanted to share a few pictures that we snapped during the whole ordeal and you can find them below.
The view from our back porch when the water was rising.
The left side of the porch view when the neighborhood flooded.
The view from our front door, our condo parking lot.
Bug during the storm, poor baby.
Lily when the wind started picking up outside. She was not happy.
My parents yard when the water went down in the neighborhood. At least they had a sense of humor still!
I hope you all enjoy this beautiful Wednesday and I'll see you guys tomorrow! xoxo, Kayleigh.
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