Lafitte, La. -
Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner decided Monday not to punch another hole in the levee along Bayou Barataria, as was accomplished Sunday. That's because the water, Kerner says, is going down.
As the water recedes in Lafitte, the clean-up effort ramps up.
Mayor Kerner says pumps are helping to drain water away from homes, but the damage is already done.
Elias Basse explained, "Downstairs here I had over three feet and about 10-15 inches up there. My baseboards in my upstairs are 12-inch boards and it were over that."
As Basse cleans up, his frustration mounts. He says the state denied his request to elevate his home, even though his house floods during almost every storm.
"Everybody's just crying and it gets to a point where you're just so frustrated and your nerves, and you start crying thinking about all of this," Basse said.
A lot of people in Lafitte who are cleaning up say they went through this same sort of thing last year, with Tropical Storm Lee. The Leblanc family had to replace all of their carpeting and baseboards -- and now they've had to rip it out all over again. Lanvin Leblanc estimates the repairs will cost him upwards of $200,000.
Leblanc and other residents in Lafitte and Barataria feel they need more flood protection. While that won't happen overnight, now they're focusing on helping each other.
Mayor Kerner explained, "We're removing trees from people's driveways where they can get home, from close to power lines and all, so we can hook up power quicker. And also we're going out and gutting houses, putting tarps on houses. whatever we can do to help people out."
The National Guard is providing hot meals to residents at Lafitte Town Hall and firefighters roam the streets handing out water and ice. It's the least they can do, they say, to help these residents whose belongings are destroyed, yet again.
The curfew that was in place for Lafitte has been lifted. And as of 5:00 p.m. Monday, residents who live in the area south of Goose Bayou are now allowed back into their homes, as the water there has gone down significantly.
Damaged Lafitte home
