Our rescue team arrived to Louisiana one day before the storm arrived. The following morning we saw the devastation all around us. The lowest water points we saw were no less than 30-inches. Homes and businesses had their roofs torn away and nearly every power pole had been snapped. The further south we traveled to do rescue, the higher the water: up to nearly 10 feet in some neighborhoods, with people stranded on rooftops. They have no electricity. Our neighbors in Louisiana need our help.
Cities west of New Orleans were devastated with severe storm surge and 15 inches of rain. We witnessed homes being toppled and houses being inundated with water up to the rooftops! Now the homeowners have no electricity or clean water for weeks to come (and potentially up to two months in some areas. City council members in some areas have said don't be surprised if certain parts of the grid do not reprise until late fall (because the infrastructure was fragile to begin with).
We can at least ensure that dozens of families (into the hundreds of lives) receive food, water and roof patch kits (until we figure out a more permanent solution). Many homes are already growing moss and mold, so we also want to get them cleaning supplies as soon as possible! Generators are needed as well. So many elderly are on oxygen or hospice. We helped one person who had gone into cardiac arrest. The heat in the region is unbearable, so we need to power fans and put gas in cars to run AC.
We can save lives together. Our four and a half days there were impactful, but we want to do more. They need all of us.
