METAIRIE, La. — Grand Isle, the vacation and fishing hotspot on Louisiana’s coast is “uninhabitable” at this time with three feet of sand across the entire island and 40 percent of the buildings completely destroyed, Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said at a press conference Tuesday evening.
Lee Sheng said that a group with the government and first responders was able to make its way to the island after getting through the only road that leads in and out.
There were 10 to 12 levee breaks on the Gulf side of the island, according the Sheng.
While Grand Isle was hit by the hardest punch from Hurricane Ida, there were several other areas with major problems.
Lafitte still had a number of homes completely engulfed by water, but rescue boats were able to rescue 15 people.
In addition, the east bank of the parish was still without clean water and electricity to most of its residents.
Lee Sheng said that she heard I-10 was backed up with traffic, which she said heartened her. She said that people were deciding that “these are not conditions to be living in.”
Lee Sheng advised people not to return at the current time if they had left for the storm.
For those who stayed, she said that water and ice distribution sites were being set up.
Trash pickup though, would not resume until Monday, Sept. 6 due in large part to blocked roads and broken traffic lights.