September 17, 2024

By: Tara Letort, Regional Communications Director

When Hurricane Francine hit the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 storm on September 11, Josh LaJaunie knew that his community in Thibodaux was about to flood. He’s no stranger to floods, in fact, his neighborhood streets have filled with water at least four times a year for as long as he can remember. 

“We’re basically in a hole so when it rains, or worse, a category 2 hurricane hits, we’re surrounded by water and can’t even get out of our own driveways for days," Josh said. “200 plus people in our tight-knit community have been without power and no access to resources since the storm hit, and in this case, it was going to stay that way until the water recedes or is pumped out.”

Josh, his mother and siblings have since taken over as managers of the 115-mobile home park his grandfather built in 1984  and continue to honor his legacy by caring for their community. They’ve also remained close with Chad Pruitt, a member of Lafourche Parish Housing, who manages the apartments next door. Sharing many of the same struggles, Josh and Chad assist each other during severe weather and even bring in their own equipment to help pump out floodwaters.

“Thibodaux is already low lying, surrounded by the bayou on one side, and a ridge on the other two sides," said Chad. “As development continues to build up around them, and levees experience delays and failures, rain and floodwaters drain into their homes and neighborhood, and this happens every time they experience a hard rain or storm.”

Since the only road going into the apartment complex has been underwater since Hurricane Francine hit on Thursday and left residents in the neighborhood without power, no one was able to cook. Josh and Chad brought them food, shuttled them in and out of the complex and checked on them daily. After a few days, they then called on the Red Cross to assist.

More than 150 Red Cross volunteers from 36 states descended upon Louisiana to assist with the response to Hurricane Francine. When Red Cross volunteers Tania (from Wisconsin) and Jim (from Washington) arrived to the community in Thibodaux, they navigated around flooded streets and driveways to access the neighborhood. They were escorted by Lafourche Parish police officer, Nikki, to go door to door delivering snacks and water to those in need.

One of the residents, Virginia Jenkins, lives in one of the apartments that backs up to the tree line, which has flooded four times since she moved in just 45 short days ago.

“I just finished having all of my utilities switched over, and I can’t believe that this is happening again,” said Virginia

In addition to water flooding her neighborhood’s entrance and exit for four days, water came in through the front door and walls from the plumbing that overflowed into her living room. Her biggest concern was her late mother’s furniture, which she has had since her mother passed away a year ago. She said that she felt like she was slowly losing her dear mother’s furniture every time it floods. This time, she used bricks to keep her furniture off the floor to save any last memory of her mother that she could.

Our changing climate is disrupting lives and entire communities as the frequency and intensity of extreme weather rapidly increases around the globe. The Red Cross is responding to nearly twice as many large disasters as we did a decade ago to help families struggling with the toll of repeated disasters. Communities like Thibodaux are impacted by chronic, climate-driven disasters, and the need for help has never been greater.

The real heroes in the community are those like Josh, Chad and Nikki that go above and beyond to provide care, comfort and support to their neighbors, friends and family, and volunteers like Tania and Jim that drop everything the travel across the country to help those they’ve never met.

You can join these heroes by donating to help people affected by disasters, or put on a red vest and make a difference as a volunteer. Financial donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters like Hurricane Francine. Visit redcross.org/Louisiana today.