LAFITTE, La. — Hurricane season is less than two months away, and it’s not forecast to be a forgiving summer.
But some parts of Southeast Louisiana are still cleaning up from last hurricane season.
The inside of the Frickey’s home in Lafitte hasn’t been touched since there was seven feet of water inside. Looking through the front door, there’s mold on the ceilings, which are caving in, and black mud caking the floor and lower walls.
Melba Frickey says when it comes to her home, they haven’t made much progress since Hurricane Ida brought her fury.
“About the same place we were when we first started,” Frickey said. “He’s 81 and I’m 79. And it was rough for us to take the mud.”
Frickey and her husband have lived in their home for 43 years. Hurricane Ida damage now has them living out of one repaired sun room, on the side of their house, and in a small trailer in their driveway.
When we arrived at their home, someone on heavy machinery was moving piles of mud in their front yard.
They’re still waiting for a larger FEMA trailer and for grant money that would allow them to rebuild their home.
Money is tight across the street, too. Jenna Caminita’s roof caved in and all of her belongings inside were destroyed. She and her husband are still living in a trailer in the driveway.
“We don’t know which way to turn,” Caminita said.
She says her insurance company offered her just over $2,000, and she hasn’t seen a dollar of it.
“There is no more easy way out down here. You either gotta have insurance and fight them, or you go through FEMA and fight them. And FEMA don’t help you until you’re done with insurance,” she said.
Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner said up to 20% of his community is still living in trailers, and schools may not be back open until December.
Though Category 4 Ida blew through nearly eight months ago, it’s still altering every day life. And 2022 may not be much kinder.
Colorado State University researchers forecast another powerful hurricane season, with 19 named storms and four major hurricanes.
Something Caminita says her trailer can’t take – and Lafitte can’t, either.
“It’s gonna be a long time before we come back, real long time,” she said. “The coastal erosion is eatin’ us up.”
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.