Hurricane Ida is pushing inland across southeast Louisiana. The storm bringing with it hurricane-force winds, flooding, and widespread destruction.
16 years ago, a very similar scenario played out: Hurricane Katrina forever changed the lives of thousands.
“It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever sat through. I was sitting in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and the hurricane come through the tornados and everything,” said Lisa Benoit
While she is now living in Houston, Benoit was born in Houma, Louisiana and was living in New Orleans during Katrina.
“The recovery after is the worst thing I’ve ever been through in life. I lost everything. I don’t wish it upon anybody,” Benoit said.
Hurricane Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damages and left 1,833 people dead.
Benoit now a mother of three worries that Ida which came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane will cause even more destruction. She has been in close contact with family and friends, who decided to ride out the powerful storm.
So far, everyone is ok.
“I would never sit through another hurricane. I know I checked in on my husband’s grandparents and they’re like, ‘No, we aren’t leaving. We are going to go to my cousin’s house, and they’ve stocked up and turned on their generators,’” Benoit said.
Benoit said once the storm has passed through, she and others will try and gather supplies to help in the ongoing relief efforts that will certainly be needed.