TERREBONNE PARISH, La. — Terrebonne Parish took a direct hit from Hurricane Ida. Now two weeks later, and counting, many in the area are still without power.
Piles of debris and running generators are the sights and sounds you’ll find in Houma. But neighbors said their biggest fear right now is getting forgotten.
“I rode out Andrew, Katrina and this and believe me this thing was Katrina on steroids,” said Houma resident Harold Verret.
Crews are working around the clock to turn the lights on in the parish. But massive amounts of damage remain.
Blue tarps now cover the roofs in the neighborhood.
Verret’s neighbors hunkered down too, but their home ended up taking the brunt of Ida’s wrath.
“We fared pretty well compared to the neighbors,” Verret said.
Their entire second floor got torn apart.
“They had a little corner in the backside of the house that they rode it out in,” Verret said.
He worries about the more than 100,000 people still without power.
“You know, you have families that are struggling in this heat that have nothing,” Verret said. “Have tarps. At nighttime the bugs are bad, the mosquitos are bad. And they are living like that.”
Officials said crews have restored about 22 percent of electricity in the parish.
“Thank God for the lineman, they are working on it,” Verret said.
He worries his community will soon become old news, and prays the relief keeps coming.
“Remember us,” Verret pleaded. “Do not forget about South Louisiana and the Bayou Parishes, there are other people south of New Orleans.”
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