GRAND ISLE, La. — "As long as there is one grain of sand on Grand Isle, we are going to plant the American Flag. We are not going anywhere.”
So says a sign on the wall of Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle.
Facing the Gulf of Mexico with zero protection from Mother Nature, Grand Isle has taken punch after punch from what seems like ever-strengthening and ever more frequent hurricanes.
The island has come back time and time again, but Hurricane Ida last year may prove to be the toughest challenge yet.
The island has 2,800 structures. Of those, 460, or about one-sixth, were completely destroyed. Another 187 had major damage and only a paltry 7 percent were unscathed, though the fact that any got through that was is nothing short of amazing.
“We were on the bad side of the storm,” says Camardelle as he talks about the hardest hit area – Caminada Pass. “So what happened is you looked at a wall of water that came right through and it went like 12-13 feet straight across.”
The island went five months before power was restored and water no longer had to be boiled. The island had a population of 1,400 before Ida. It’s currently half of that number. Others may return once things are better, but there is no doubt that many have thrown in the towel.
The town’s school had 150 students before Ida and now educates only 82.
There is apparently help on the way but whether it will get to Grand Isle before another gut-testing storm remains to be seen. Camardelle says $122 million in federal money is coming in to help with the beach area, but the project hasn’t gotten far and will take years to complete.
He says he is grateful for the help but frustrated by red tape.
“I'm talking out of my heart right here... Here to protect our people and we don't have time for the red tape. If you can't figure it out up north send it to Louisiana and we're going to make sure it happens.”
But Camardelle is taking a major risk. He has Grand Isle’s public structures insured for flood and fire, but not for wind. He says it simply comes down to dollars and cents.
“I’m broke right now. We’re going to gamble. I want to live like my people. If they can’t afford it, the town can’t afford it… I’m gonna take that $180,000 and I’m going to keep it in my checking account so I can feed my workers – feed their families, make sure that they have food on the table.”
Camardelle knows it’s a gamble and he knows people ask why residents stay exposed to the elements. There will be more storms. That’s for sure. When, how severe and whether they will come before federal help are all questions that currently have no answers. Even if the federal government helps, can Grand Isle survive a major hurricane?
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Camardelle says there is a simple reason Grand Isle residents keep rebuilding – and it isn’t insanity.
“Watch the breeze come through the windows and just watching the Gulf of Mexico,seeing the sun set and the sun rise in the morning over the beach. People amazed. They get up and just drink a cup of coffee and, in the evening, drink a glass of wine on the other side of their camp. And they're watching this and say, 'You know what? We live in paradise and it's beautiful. And listen, it's worth saving."