Residents, officials begin tornado recovery process
13th February 2017 · 0 Comments
After New Orleans East residents and business owners were hit February 7 with the strongest recorded tornado in city history, the arduous process of figuring out how to bounce back and become whole again has begun. The process, however, has been made all the more difficult by the fact that the mostly Black community has still not fully recovered from the devastating hurricane and subsequent levee breaks that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans more than 11 years ago.
Since the tornado, residents and business owners have been scrambling to recover what they could from their homes and businesses and working to devise a game plan for rebuilding their lives, homes. businesses and communities.
The tornado, designated as an EF-3, was one of eight to hit south Louisiana on February 7 and was by far the most severe. It covered a two-mile path and severely damaged about 300 properties and injured 33 people, city officials reported.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said last Tuesday that he was not certain that FEMA would step up to provide disaster relief and recovery support the way it did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Entergy officials said they expected power to be restored to everyone in eastern New Orleans by Saturday while some residents who already had their power restored were still waiting for various cable television services to come back on lie.
As they awaited an uncertain future with no official declaration of the tornado as a U.S. disaster, residents began piling up their damaged homes and belongings along the curb in the hopes of having the growing mountains of debris hauled off soon. Others who suffered minor damage or were spared altogether lent a helping hand to neighbors who were harder hit and needed everything from help hauling off debris to assistance securing their homes and businesses and keeping an eye out for looters.
At least one resident told WWL: News last week that she was cussed out by a young man who she confronted as he exited her neighbor’s home with an armful of her belongings.
“These kinds of disasters bring out the best in some of us and the worst in others,” eastern New Orleans resident Angela Brown told The Louisiana Weekly. “A lot of time and energy is being wasted trying to keep an eye out for looters and con artists after the tornado. We need help from the government to rebuild our lives and help from law enforcement agencies to restore order because right now things are very chaotic.
“New Orleans East was already the ‘Wild, Wild West’ before this tornado — now things are much, much worse and everybody is on edge and scrambling for their lives.”
The City of New Orleans set up a shelter at Joe Brown Park Tuesday night and the Red Cross said last week that it will provide meals, places to sleep and minor first aid if needed. A number of churches have also stepped up to assist displaced residents and Second Harvest Food Bank and Giving HOPE Food Panry are providing meals, water and groceries to those displaced by the tornado.
WWL News reported that the powerful tornado blew Gilda Faciane’s house into her backyard.
“Tonight, I don’t know where we’re going to lay our heads. We really need a place to stay and it’s not just me, lots of my neighbors are in the same boat,” says Gilda.
Gilda’s neighbors told WWL that they’re staying with family or friends until they can find a more permanent place to live.
“It’s my mom so it’s not too bad but home is home,” says Nicole White, a neighbor.
“You’d rather be in your own comfort but right now we are just dealing with it,” adds Johnathan Griffin, Nicole’s husband.
“There’s no other choice. It’s just one of those things, a Katrina moment,” says Gilda.
Homeowners say they’d just like somewhere comfortable to stay.
“I’ve never been afraid of a hurricane but this is really scary,” says Gilda. “Most of my clothes are gone. It’s starting all over again.”
The City of New Orleans says anyone who needs help should go to the Joe Brown Recreation Center, even homeowners with insurance. City officials say they are also working with the state and federal government to meet the long-term housing needs of residents.
Local school officials talked last week about ongoing efforts to make the recovery process run as smoothly as possible for students, parents and OPSB employees.
“I visited several schools, spoke with staff and students, and saw the damage firsthand,” Orleans Parish School Board Superintendent Henderson Lewis said in a statement last week. “I want to extend my condolences and express my concern for all those personally affected by this catastrophic event. I also want to thank the many OPSB employees who remained calm and continued to lead, teach and comfort our students throughout the course of these events.”
Among those schools that suffered a loss of power as a result of Tuesday’s severe weather was OPSB’s Einstein Sherwood Forest. The campus at Sherwood Forest will be closed until power is restored to the area. Pre-K – second grade students will observe the school closure. Students in grades 3 – 5 will attend class at Sarah T. Reed High School until power is restored to their campus.
ReNEW Schaumburg Ele-mentary, another school in Orleans Parish that suffered loss of power and structural damage, will be closed the remainder of the school year and expects to relocate classes to Frances Gaudet Elementary School beginning Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Resurrection of Our Lord Elementary School and New Orleans Adventist Academy also experienced power outages due to Tuesday’s tornado. Both schools remained closed through Friday.
“We know of 12 OPSB employees who have been directly impacted by the storm,” Henderson Lewis said. “We are working to gather additional information and encourage those interested in supporting our community, employees and the families impacted by the storm to visit Einstein Academies Tornado Relief. In addition, those in need of assistance may also visit nola.gov/ready to access a comprehensive list of community partners that are working to support impacted families. We will continue to update our website with new information and resources.
“We are a resilient city that has overcome many challenges. As we have in the past, we will recover and rebuild together,” Supt. Lewis added. “…Our thoughts and prayers are with all students, families and staff members.”
“Our primary concern is for the welfare of those who were affected by Tuesday’s tornado. OPSB will do everything possible to ensure school children of this area are well cared for during challenging times,” said OPSB Board President and District 1 Board Member John A. Brown Sr.
Last Friday, both Gov. John Bel Edwards and U. S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, who represents the district, requested that President Trump issue a federal disaster declaration for the area. As of press time, no such declaration had been made.
This article originally published in the February 13, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
