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Rita’s Wrath, Resilient Spirits
Written by
Christopher Gardner
, Special to Redcross.org
Saturday, October 01, 2005 — Chouipque Bayou and Hackberry, La. — Just south of Lake Charles, La., is low-lying Cameron Parish, sparsely populated yet tight-knit communities that have come together in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.
Both Choupique Bayou and Hackberry have been devastated by Hurricane Rita, sustaining an 80 to 90 percent total loss of homes. Miraculously, there have been no fatalities.
The proud, self-reliant people of Choupique Bayou
and Hackberry, La., accept relief supplies, including
food and water, from American Red Cross volunteers
after Hurricane Rita devastated the small
communities just south of Lake Charles, La.
(Photo Credit: Marty Robby/American Red Cross) |
Twisted, buckled, flooded and splintered, most of the houses are hard to recognize as recently having been a family’s home. Driving to bring relief supplies to these small communities, American Red Cross workers must traverse miles of debris and endless tangles of downed power lines. The snakelike cords illustrate the enormous task ahead for utility companies.
“We rode out Audrey, we rode out Katrina and we rode out Rita,” says long-time Hackberry resident 63 year-old Ernie Little with a wonderful drawl that epitomizes the Louisiana Bayou. “But we aren’t going to do that again.”
His older brother Butch, 65, agrees with a quiet nod and a tired stare. The brothers have lived in Hackberry their entire lives. Not ones to be scared easily, they stayed in the only home they have ever known during the storms. Ernie’s wife evacuated, and the closest available hotel she could find was in Arkansas.
Today, the Little brothers are trying to find their scattered cattle and locate potable water. The tidal surge from Rita came so far inland that it has ruined much of the area’s water supply. Two Red Cross workers provide the Little brothers with a case of drinking water.
Sadly, the local Catholic Church has sustained massive damage, including its cemetery where the storm was strong enough to uproot crypts and spill caskets onto the ground – a testament to Rita’s force which, while dwarfed by the magnitude Hurricane Katrina, remained a massive hurricane by typical standards.
In the small community of Chouipque Bayou, the one gas station that serves as the central point of the town has sustained major damage. But, it is lucky compared to the rest of the town. Of the 20 or so homes in Choupique, only a three did not suffer flood damage. Mud and debris coat the floors of the houses that are still standing, many of which will have to be demolished.
Rhonda Stokes of Chouipque Bayou, La., walks to her daughter’s home with an American Red Cross worker to survey the damage after Rita cut a swath through the tiny town. (Photo Credit: Marty Robby American Red Cross)
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Rhonda Stokes’ flip-flop shoes are not the ideal footwear for walking down the “mud-soup” of a road. With each step, the muck splatters up her legs. She troops on anxious to show the Red Cross workers the damage her daughter’s home sustained. Mosquitoes feverishly bite any exposed skin, and the group slaps themselves constantly to fend the pests off. Brown slippery sludge covers the hardwood floor, and Mrs. Stokes warns the others that a snake was seen in the kitchen earlier.
“The Cokes are still cold!” announces Dyrell Stokes. He and a group of friends are slowly driving a tractor up the driveway carrying a salvaged refrigerator. “Want one?”
Mr. Stokes offers the drinks to the Red Cross volunteers there to help. Feeling sheepish they accept this generous offer of hospitality. Sometimes in order to give, one has to be able to receive.
The proud, self-reliant and independent people of Choupique hesitate to accept relief supplies. Reluctantly they finally take food and water from the Red Cross workers to distribute to neighbors throughout the area.
Christopher Gardner from the San Luis Obispo Chapter of the Red Cross in California is an American Red Cross Rapid Response Team writer deployed to Louisiana. Photographer Marty Robby is from the Red Cross chapter in Des Moines, Iowa.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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