NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— Rebuild and repair. That seems to be the motto for many living in St. Bernard Parish.
“This tornado, I don’t think anybody was ready for it,” said Puddin Pineiro. She lives just off Center Street in Arabi.
Devastation and much destruction throughout that area – but Pineiro says it’s nothing new.
In 2005 she and her husband rode out Hurricane Katrina there and ended up stranded.
“Nine days we was on the tin roof,” said Pineiro. “Chips and water whatever we could catch in the water we had.”
The flooding was as high as their house numbers. It took them a while to fix their home, and Pineiro plans to fix it up again after Tuesday’s tornado.
“The people I’ve seen and I’ve talked to say they’re going to be okay, and they’re going to rebuild.”
Just a few streets down lives lifelong St. Bernard Parish homeowner Kim Vitale and her family.
They’ve spent the last few days remaining resilient.”Keep it moving, keep it moving,” said Vitale.
Searching through the rubble, Vitale found a box filled with memories from her wedding.
“It broke my heart,” said Vitale. “Reality I guess.”
She says the family lost everything in Katrina.
At least this time, some items are salvagable.”Ee lost two cars, a van, a truck, a boat,” said Vitale.
Adding, they won’t leave so easily. They’ll keep rebuilding as often as necessary.”We’re still going to be here. We’ll be here.”