JERSEY VILLAGE – Brande Duke’s cellphone is her lifeline to what’s left of her home in New Orleans.
“The ceiling has caved in,” Duke said, as she watched a cell phone video sent to her.
The video details damage in her son’s bedroom -- while sheetrock carpets the floor, clothes, bedding, and other belongings are soaked in water and there’s also a large hole in the ceiling.
Duke said it’s just a reminder of how long her family will be displaced.
“Everything is destroyed,” Duke said.
Duke, her husband, and her children left New Orleans last weekend before Ida made landfall, and has since been paying out of pocket for hotel rooms in Jersey Village.
Duke said her family is covered until Saturday but she doesn’t have the money to cover anything further.
“After Saturday, next week, we will be homeless living in two cars,” Duke said.
Sunday marked one week since Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Since then, thousands of Louisiana residents have evacuated to the Houston area. While aid is beginning to make its way to those who need it, some evacuees said they’re running out of money to cover hotel and food expenses. Many said they’ve applied for housing assistance from FEMA, but are still waiting for approval.
For those who have been approved, the relief couldn’t come soon enough.
“Rooms were getting really scarce,” said Ava Jones, a New Orleans resident. Jones said she and roughly two dozen evacuees have paid out of pocket to stay at a hotel in the Galleria area. She said the cost amounted to $1,500.
“I’ve been charged all kinds of charges,” Jones said.
Jones was approved for FEMA relief and is scheduled to move into a FEMA-approved hotel on Monday.
“Now, we’re all scrambling around trying to call the same hotels that FEMA listed, and everybody is saying, ‘No vacancy. We’re all booked up,’” Jones said.
Matthew Marchetti, the co-founder of Houston-based CrowdSource Rescue, returned from nearly a weeklong stay in Louisiana where he was helping to rescue stranded residents.
Marchetti said while the floodwater has subsided in most parts, the struggle to survive day-to-day has been a challenge.
“They have very little food, very little water,” Marchetti said.
CrowdSource Rescue was founded during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The nonprofit organization helps to connect rescuers from all over the country to people in need during natural disasters.
Marchetti and a team of volunteers rescued residents by boat from LaPlace to Lafitte.
“There are still people sitting in houses that might be moldy, might be unhealthy,” Marchetti said.
One week after Ida, there’s still a push to move victims who stayed in the storm’s path. Local organizations are also continuing their efforts to help evacuees. Still, some fear the aid isn’t getting to them soon enough.
“We have nowhere to go,” said Duke.
Without an income coming in, Duke has a six-day window before she and her family will have to vacate their hotel.
“[A representative from FEMA] said it will take between seven to 14 days. It might take up to 21 days,” Duke said.
KPRC 2 spoke with a representative from FEMA who said applications are in the process of being approved. The agency has a list of designated hotels on its website. Roughly 280 hotels have been approved within the Houston area.
A list of qualifying hotels can be found here:
Website: https://femaevachotels.com/index.php
CrowdSource Rescue continues its efforts in Louisiana. The organization is accepting donations on its website.