The Forgotten Hurricane

Originally Published on April 16, 2017

With all of the bad weather talk and scares going on here in the great state of Alabama, it brings me back to a weather emergency that I experienced. I thought I’d share my recollection of events. The rest of the country loves to talk about Hurricane Katrina, nobody seems to remember the one that affected some of our lives in Lake Charles, Cameron, and Sulphur the most though… which were equally as terrible, just a different type of destruction. Some of you know which one I’m talking about, the forgotten hurricane… Rita. Which by the way, was only a few weeks after Katrina, and affected the Katrina victims that had fled to our town. (Double doozie.) Every time people find out where I’m from, they automatically assume that I must have been affected by Katrina and they love to talk about it. I always get a little annoyed. There is more to Louisiana than the wonderful city of New Orleans. There have been way more natural disasters than the one. I’m not saying that it wasn’t a horrific event, because it most certainly was. I’m just saying that for some of us, we experienced something similar that was not as publicized.

This is what I recall…. DISCLAIMER some of this may not be completely factual (as far as timelines) because the entire experience was pure chaos, but I assure you, I remember the most disturbing parts. In September of 2005, when my daughter was not even two years old, we were evacuated. At the last minute. There was all this talk about the storm hitting elsewhere (Houston to be exact), then out of nowhere, it had changed its trajectory and was headed straight for us in Calcasieu and Cameron Parish. I urged my mother and stepfather to evacuate, to not stay and ride this one out. Which for those of you not from the good ole’ LA… we mostly did. Every year, every hurricane, like clockwork, we had hurricane parties at our house and hoped for the best (for the record, there aren’t basements in Louisiana… grounds too “swampy” if you will)—for the particularly scary ones, we’d pile up in the elementary school gym with our friends, family and neighbors. It also usually turned into a party. I have felt many hurricane winds hit my face. It’s an amazing, indescribable feeling. Mother Nature at her finest. It’s enchantingly beautiful. *pauses to remember the feeling*—it's a long one.

...Back to Rita...that bitch.... I begged my parents to leave, and with good reason. So they did. The whole family (well not the whole family, my stubborn grandmother refused to leave…we’ll get to that) packed very few items and hit the road for Shreveport. That’s about a three and a half hour drive from where are home was on a normal day….but this day, well this day, everyone had just found out that they should bail, so as you can imagine, the roads were packed, traffic was at a crawl. We were barely moving. There were three cars included in our bandwagon. My mother is pissed by this point because “I should have just stayed home.” Every person in line is cranky, scared, yelling, people are starting to cut in line, it was terrible. This went on for hours. Finally, when traffic could go no more, people starting shutting off their engine. For miles, people got out of their cars and set up camp along the highway. At 2:00 a.m. in the middle of a hurricane warning, I slept on the side of the road, using a jacket for a blanket with my one-year child. We stayed up in shifts to watch her. I woke up around 4am, realizing everyone had fallen asleep. It was instant panic mode checking to make sure my baby was still there. Thankfully, she was as peaceful as could be. The only one of all of us that slept...well... like a baby. Finally, around 5 or 6, maybe later, traffic started moving.

We ended up in a little town called Many, Louisiana. Until then, I had never heard of the place, and if you haven’t, you’re not missing much. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of brother/uncles there. Shreveport was no longer an option, time had run out, and we had to seek shelter.

They opened up one of the high schools in Many, and were rushing people inside. Just imagine, hundreds of tired, dirty people, of every age, color, gender, etc. being herded into this building unexpectedly, the wind and rain is literally getting stronger by the second. We can’t get in fast enough. Finally, the doors were shut, people were everywhere, making pallets on the floor to sleep. They had rolled in an old box CRT television and a radio that caught more static than news, and set it up in the hall for anyone to listen that wanted to. Again, this town was backwards—this was from their media room.

For the next few hours, we watched, and then listened…because the power went out, to reports of our home being destroyed. The walls around us were shaking, there was fear that the glass wouldn’t hold. Eventually, there are no phones, there is no power, there is nothing… other than the static and bad news. I am extremely worried about my grandmother and the rest of my family at this point, and have no way to contact them.

The hurricane makes its mark, its over by the next day. We can’t leave though. We’re not allowed on the roads; they won’t allow us back into town. It’s too dangerous. There is still no power at the school. There are still no phones. The outside carport has turned into smoker’s paradise; the inside has started to stink. Worse, the bathrooms have started to flood. This was just day one. We stayed there through day three. (Day four since the beginning.) In the middle of this shit-show, in a school restroom turned cesspool, a woman was raped. As if hurricanes, lost homes, and dead family members weren't enough—this woman was violated during some of the worst days of her life. It was a living hell.

Given the conditions and the sexual violence, they then decided to move the group to a school in a nearby town. I don’t recall where. Again, we were herded like cattle, in our cars this time, and played follow the leader until we reached our new shelter. (HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE) I can’t recall exactly how long this stint was, but I’m positive it wasn’t more than a few hours. I vaguely remember playing basketball. It's it weird the things that fill up the space. The power went out shortly after we arrived…so what happened? You guessed it… we were asked to move… AGAIN.

This time we were sent to a church? A VFW hall? A warehouse? I’m really not sure. I should be, being that this place became my home for the next week. It was nice though, some people left against better judgment, so there were less people. There was power. There were showers. There were helpful volunteers, water…and MRE’s. That’s right. That was our meal. Every morning, noon, and night… an MRE meal. For those of you that don’t know what MRE’s are, they are “meals, ready to eat,” made for the military. No these weren’t the fancy ones you find at Dick’s Sporting Goods or Academy for camping, these were the real deal that soldiers eat. I've included a handy video as to how to use one of these bad boys for your viewing pleasure below. Some of them were actually “good,” some not so much, I pretty much lived off of the cookies, and gave the rest to my toddler. I think I made some temporary friends, if my memory serves me correctly. I think at one point, they even managed to get some hamburgers in one day. We were still being advised not to travel back home. Then… a member of our party (I don’t consider this person family anymore, but it’s part of this story) had a “mini heart attack” (a stroke was probably more accurate) in the middle of the night—although he refused medical treatment because he’s an idiot. Yep… it was great. (That’s sarcasm, I’m not a total cunt.) He threw a fit that he wanted to “go home.” So we left, in the middle of the night and as we neared our hometown, power lines were down everywhere. The roads were the darkest I’ve ever seen. It was eerie and insanely scary. Remember, by this time, we have no clue what awaits us. We were met with resistance upon arriving into town, we used the old “this guy just had a heart attack” bit to get in. Although, that was responded to with a, “Um, this isn’t the best place for medical care.” Ultimately my HazMat license got us in, I told them I had to come back for work to assure people got clean water—which was actually true, but I had told my boss I couldn't get back. Hey, regardless of the situation, I wasn't going to argue with a "vacation."

It was still dark when we got to my mother’s house. There was damage, but I couldn’t see how much. I went straight to my grandmother’s house next door and began to cry profusely when I saw her. She was fine, she was laughing (because she’s obviously a lunatic) …SHE HAD A TREE IN HER HOUSE.

In the daylight…. There were limbs and trees down everywhere. There is no power in our town or anywhere near. Everyone is living off of generators. The storm had left half of my mother’s house uninhabitable. A limb had gone through the roof, it had rained, flooded, and had started to mildew. Later this became black mold and the home has since been demolished. I didn’t have a home to be destroyed, because I lived with my mother, because I once was not as *cool as I am now.

*responsible

I took a drive through town (highly inadvisable with all the debris, and not a single traffic light operating) … it was terrible. Businesses and homes destroyed. Multiple tornadoes had gone through town. For those of us that lived through it, we all know that the obliteration of Tastee Freez was by far the worst thing that could have ever happened. (Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but can I get an Amen?) There were boats smashed alongside the beach and the train track between Westlake and Lake Charles. The riverboat casinos were destroyed. One of which went out of business and was never reopened, and the eyesore that was the parking garage collected mold and weeds for many, many years. Wait…is it still there? Another little tidbit that those of you unfamiliar with swampland may be interested to know—when it floods, graves swim. It's cloudy with a chance of bodies floating down the street.

Cameron Parish was no more…entire towns and communities were completely wiped out. I don’t mean they were flooded, I don’t mean they were smashed, I mean, there was a slab…and nothing more. People lost their lives, people lost their pets, people lost their jobs.

Here is an excerpt from a news article:

“Southwest Louisiana towns wiped out: For parts of southwest Louisiana, Rita was every bit as bad as Katrina was for Mississippi and southeast Louisiana. Holly Beach, Cameron, Creole and Grand Cheniere were leveled by up to a 15-foot storm surge. Surge flooding extended as far north as Interstate 10 (about 25 miles inland), swamping Lake Charles, Louisiana, in up to 6 feet of water. An 8-12 foot storm surge was estimated in parts of Vermillion, Iberia and St. Mary Parishes, while a 3-5 foot surge inundated Port Arthur, Texas.

Rita also spawned 92 tornadoes from Sept. 23-25, according to Dr. Greg Forbes, severe weather expert for The Weather Channel."

In the weeks prior, the power was slowly repaired one area at a time, until then, we continued to live off of generators in our damaged home. We were advised not to drink the water. Everything had to be boiled, including the bath water… cause you know, no heat.

The military set up camp in the old Wal-Mart parking lot where they’d pass out you guessed it… MRE’s (boxes of them), and cases of water…in a can. WATER IN A CAN. The state issued temporary food stamps, and gave everyone a card, because like… nobody was working. Mine was $600. No, I didn't buy Oreo's, and/or Cheetos. Don't be stereotypical. I hear you being judgy Mc. Judgerston.

This experience was nothing short of a scary, eye-opening, reality check.

Here's the catch though—Rita, as terrible as she was, was just the worst of many. As Band of Heathens sings, "I don't mind the strength of a hurricane, they come around every June."

"Don't mess with Mother Nature, baby boy." — Geoffrey Barbry, 42, who was rescued from his Lake Charles, La., trailer after it flipped it.

Here is a video for reference. <3 (The music leaves something to be desired.)