Ida Revisited
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
Hurricane Ida revisited six months later Story by Janet Marcel Sunday, August 29, 2021, is a day that will not be soon forgotten by many people who live in the Diocese of HoumaThibodaux and surrounding areas. Hurricane Ida was the worst storm to directly impact Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes since Hurricane Betsy, over 56 years ago in September 1965; and it was also one of the most damaging and intense hurricanes on record to make landfall in Louisiana. Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic 150 plus mile-an-hour winds lashed the State of Louisiana as a Category 4 storm for about six hours after it made landfall at Port Fourchon, LA, destroying the homes and livelihoods of countless numbers of residents throughout the diocese and beyond. Several
churches, Catholic schools and other facilities throughout the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux also sustained anywhere from major to moderate damage. In Bayou Catholic’s Hurricane Ida special edition published in November 2021, we interviewed several residents whose homes and livelihoods were impacted by the hurricane. This past February 27 marked the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Ida’s landfall in Louisiana. In this month’s issue, we revisited some of the families we spoke with after the hurricane to see where they are with regard to rebuilding their homes and their lives after this devastating experience. BC March 2022 • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • Bayou Catholic • 39
