LAPLACE, La. (WVUE) – For weeks residents have been displaced, dealing with the frustrations that come with rebuilding.
It’s hard to describe what people are going through in Laplace. Pieces of their lives scattered on the front lawn, tarps covering nearly every rooftop, if there is one; and residents trying to get back on their feet.
Dwight Alexander Sr. had to gut his entire house after Hurricane Ida brought flood water in. It’s times like these he’s thankful for his brother Michael– who’s a contractor.
“I mean this is my brother,” said Michael. “I’m kind of working as a brother right now not as a contractor because the insurance is really slow with money.”
“He only gets paid when I get paid,” Dwight joked.
Dwight said it’s tough. He works shift work and his home is under construction.
“I mean I’m sleeping on my couch. I have no running water. I mean I got to take a shower when he’s [Michael] not working on the waterline. So I mean, it’s hard. It’s hard.”
Right now, he said, he’s waiting for insurance money to come through and for the trash to get picked up.
Across the street from Dwight, lives Leroy and Christine Joseph. Their home of 30 years is gutted.
“We had about 18 inches of water, 19 inches of water in the house,” said Leroy. “Only thing we can try to do is try to rebuild.”
“You know my wife talks about moving but selling the house and moving, who’s gonna buy a house back here right now?”
The Josephs are keeping their fingers crossed their home is a home again by next spring, but it’s going to take a long time– and they know that.
And so do their neighbors.
St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said debris and trash trucks are on the ground collecting. More than 374,450 cubic yards of debris have been collected so far. Hotard said all September water bills, which include water, sewage and garbage, are waived due to Hurricane Ida.
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