Hello (again) from Grand Isle, La.

9/27/05

I went back to the island on Sunday.  Unofficially we heard there was 150mph  wind gust, so some properties have more damage after Rita, however the damage sustained by Rita does not compare to the damage sustained by Katrina.  Weak buildings did sustain more damage due to high winds. Most roofs that were temporarily repaired with tarps after Katrina need to be address again as most tarps were torn or blown away.  If your place was damaged in Katrina it is possible that more damage has been done to your place if it was open to the elements. 

Cheniere experienced flooding, but not as severe as the flooding brought in by Katrina.  The island itself had flooding on the bay side in lower lying areas.  If you normally experience flooding for a hurricane then you more than likely got mud and water again for this round.   High tides did bring in water and left mud down some of the streets.  I did not see any places on the beach side that was flooded, as a matter of fact none of my places had water in them on the beach side (we did get water down Cypress lane, but that's normal for us even in major storms.  For a comparison, Katrina brought in 5ft of water in our downstairs.  Rita brought in 1ft of water in our downstairs.....well what was left of our downstairs).

Low parts of the island had water on the roads, but all roads are now dry and passable.  The main road is fine and no beaks occurred that we can tell.  Badges are no longer needed to get on the island, however the town is still asking that only owners/workers come on the island.  They are asking site seer's to please stay off the island, we need the roads as clear as possible for the workers to do their work.

The debris that was there after Katrina didnt move much, for example the catamaran that was on the side of the highway since Katrina didnt move even with the winds reported. 

Telephone service is being brought in and some residents do have phone service.  There were a few power lines down, but again nothing like Katrina, we are hoping we get electricity in about a week (Cheniere did have a few resident with power last week, but they have lost power since Rita).  As far as the water goes, we still don't know because we are waiting to access the pumping station in Lafitte.  Due to Lafitte's damage Grand Isle does not have running water.  Lafitte houses our pumping station.

Will be posting pictures of the island in the next few days.

Thanks for the support and all the email everyone has been sending.  If you have emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you, please understand its been crazy and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can.  If you need something please don't hesitate to email me again or call me on my cell 504-382-6001.

If you have any information regarding Grand Isle that would be beneficial to everyone, please email Christie and she can post that on the site.

Thank You,