TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. (WGNO) – In Tangipahoa Parish, the heavy rains closed roadways and left families stranded overnight.
Some residents are still dealing with the remnants of hurricane Patricia, but thankfully the Red Cross has stepped in to help out.
“There are a few folks whose homes did get a lot of water in it. When I say a lot it could have been a foot or two, that’s enough to ruin a house, so we’re opening cases on those folks and talking with them about some assistance,” says Jamie Segura with the American Red Cross.
Volunteers are driving door-to-door Monday, checking in on residents and dropping off clean-up kits. When necessary the Tangipahoa Village City Hall served as the Red Cross headquarters giving people who were rained out Sunday a chance to start over.
“I stepped down and there was nothing but water, nothing but water! Walked to the bathroom, nothing but water, we had to turn the breaker off because it was smoking,” says Chantil Mcknight.
Mcknight is just one resident whose home is still flooded from Sunday’s storm.
She showed us photographs on her smart phone of all the damage.
McKnight’s husband says they lost everything.
“We lost our beds and a lot of clothes and I don’t have any shoes on my feet right now they got soaked and floated off and everything,” says Corey Moore.
Moore says he was afraid for his family’s safety during the storm.
He says he smelled something burning and switched off the breaker to be safe.
The couple and their five children braved the storm on one bed, in the dark, all night.
Plans are in the works to move to another home in Fluker, but the home isn’t ready yet and with talk of potential storms on the horizon, all the family can do is brace themselves and wait it out.
“One of the things the Red Cross really tries to do is work with individual clients in developing an individual recovery plan. What are their next steps now that this disaster has happened to them,” Segura says. “We try to match them with local organizations, social service organizations, or state agencies, local agencies that can help provide some assistance in them getting back into their home and getting everything cleaned up.”
