CENTRAL, La. (LOCAL 33)(FOX 44) – Images of storms forming in the gulf were like deja vu for the Wingers.
When Katrina hit in 2005, she brought the same since of urgency that followed Laura and Marco. Donna Winger’s nervousness turned into action.
On Wednesday night, her husband, mother, two kids and the dogs pilled into the car and headed towards Alexandria.
“We kept watching Laura and I was like, Laura keeps gaining steam and it keeps getting a little more serious,” Winger says. “I kinda kept getting a little more nervous.”
The family left not knowing how much they stood to lose. That night Laura made landfall as a category 4 and her winds ripped through Lake Charles. Neighborhoods were destroyed, and so was the Winger house.
“It was extremely reminiscent of watching Katrina roll up,” David Winger says.
In a way, Hurricane Katrina was an easier pill to swallow than Laura. Donna and her husband David didn’t have kids or the dogs to worry about. They would rebuild their home in Treme on their own…
But this…The damage to the ceiling, the rooms….It’s a frustration that’s new, even to seasoned Louisianians like the Wingers.
This room is where David’s study used to be. Now it’s unrecognizable under all the rubble.
But there is a silver lining, David and Donna’s son, Solomon Winger says the family’s prayer paid off.
“I lost one thing,” Solomon says. “I got another thing, a house again.”
Friends and family started a GoFundMe page. Facebook friends and strangers Donna didn’t even know came through with supplies.
The best part is that a house in Central was gifted to them by a friend.