In Ironton, Trufant Salvant’s house is one of only about eight in her neighborhood not swamped by Ida’s floodwaters. “Every little act of kindness goes a long way,” Hagger said, her voice choked with emotion. The family was recently told the United Way found a donor willing to fit Ameah for a pediatric wheelchair. Store shelves haven’t been as well stocked, and deliveries haven’t arrived as regularly as usual, said Crystal Hagger, Myers’ fiancée, who helps care for Ameah.Īmeah is unable to stand or walk on her own, so the couple carry her everywhere either in their arms or on their backs with a harness-style carrier. The United Way is also managing unique cases including that of firefighter Warren Myers, whose 5-year-old special needs daughter, Ameah, requires a specific formula administered through a feeding tube, medicine to control seizures, and diapers, all of which are expensive and have been hard to get since Ida. When it comes to tarps and cleaning supplies - bleach, buckets, mops and rakes - “we can’t get enough of them,” he said. Donations have been slow to trickle in compared to previous storms, even smaller ones, and there’s not enough to meet the demand, Williamson said. The storage room in the United Way’s New Orleans headquarters - typically filled with donated food, water, tarps and cleaning supplies for residents in storm-battered communities - is nearly bare. “Everybody was just heartbroken, because we had seen devastation before … but we had never seen anything like this.”Ĭhurches and charity organizations are working to help, but the destruction is so far-reaching, there don’t seem to be enough donations to go around, said Michael Williamson, head of the United Way of Southeast Louisiana, which covers seven parishes hit by Ida. “The day that they allowed folks to come back in here, it was like a funeral,” she said. Some residents have returned to pick up what few belongings may have survived the flood, but she says they aren’t finding much to salvage - the storm surge generated by Ida rose as high as some homes’ rooftops. Others are staying in hotels or have left the state, she said. Many, like Trufant Salvant, are bunking with relatives until they can get back into their homes. The entire town is without power and running water.Ī month after Hurricane Ida roared ashore with 150-mph (241-kph) winds, communities all along the state’s southeastern coast - Ironton, Grand Isle, Houma, Lafitte and Barataria - are still suffering from the devastating effects of the Category 4 storm. Nearby houses are disconnected from their foundations, a refrigerator is lodged sideways in a tree, and dozens of caskets and tombs from two nearby cemeteries are strewn across lawns for blocks. (AP) - The land on which Audrey Trufant Salvant’s home sits in the small Louisiana town of Ironton has become an island in a sea of mud and snake-infested marsh grass.
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