Notes From the Field
SEPTEMBER23.2008
HACKBERRY AND HOLLY BEACH
Today we are traveling to Southwest Louisiana’s Cameron Parish to visit the communities of Hackberry, a town of about 1700 people, and Holly Beach, a small community of about 300 – both of which were severely impacted by hurricane Ike.
South Cameron Parish has only recently been re-opened to residents and relief personnel. A very serious-looking police officer stands next to his car with its lights flashing, blocking Highway 27, and questions us before reluctantly allowing our group to enter and reminding us that we must be out by 6:00 pm.
The highway is nearly impassable in some places. The shoulder has been washed out entirely on both sides, leaving a precipitous drop-off that is a sheer 5 feet in some places. Driving is nerve-wracking. Large shrimp boats have been washed this far inland, and lay destroyed along the highway.
Entering the town of Hackberry, every single house and place of business we see has been flooded. Whether made of brick, wood or aluminum siding, whether built on piers or a slab, each structure has doors and windows flung open and piles of insulation, waterlogged furniture, duct-taped refrigerators and freezers, muddy carpet and warped paneling dragged out to the curb in hopes of avoiding a mold infestation that would require the structure to be gutted entirely. Many residents were extremely frustrated by their inability to access their homes and businesses for so many days after the storm, knowing that for every day they were away, fewer possessions would be salvageable.
In Hackberry, we meet Susan and Richard Meaux, who are busy pushing mud out of their home and tearing out the bottom 1/3 of their home’s interior. Richard’s white rubber boots and deeply tanned skin reveal his trade as a second-generation commercial fisherman; his quick smile – despite the circumstances – reveals his good nature. Richard’s wife Susan tells us that, after hurricane Rita forced them to gut their home, destroyed their fishing equipment, and left the waters of the Gulf too contaminated to fish, Richard began collecting the cypress wood that had washed up in great quantities and proceeded to build. Though he had no formal training in carpentry, he built furniture and eventually redid the entire interior of their home: floors, ceilings, walls, fixtures – everything from scratch and by hand – a project Richard had nearly completed when Ike came through and took its toll.
Susan and Richard’s plight is indicative of challenges faced by many hurricane-affected residents along the Gulf South: not only has their home been devastated, but their small business has been deeply impacted as well. Richard took us to his large refrigeration unit, a critical component of his business for storing his daily catch. The entire unit was awash with mud, the exterior had been damaged by wind, and seals on the doors were clearly damaged. Without power, it was as yet impossible to tell how much damage the electrical refrigeration components had suffered. Richard was pleased to see that the expensive nets that he had recently gone to great expense to replace were still there when he returned after the storm; however, amidst the powerless pitch black of night, looters stole the nets, well aware of their high value in a fishing community such as this. Yet another loss to contend with. Richard and other fishermen are desperate to get back to work, but their equipment is far from functional and the Gulf’s waters remain rife with contaminants churned up by the storm. It will be weeks, if not months, before these independent fishermen are back in business.
Next, we met Loretta and Sonny Meaux, Richard’s parents. They own Meaux Fisheries and are residents of Holly Beach, who had stopped by to check in on their friends and relatives in Hackberry, some 18 miles north. Loretta answered a question that many who do not know this area have probably asked: she said, “People ask why we stay. But where are we going to go? This is the only piece of property in the world you own and the only way of life you know. Sonny is in his 60s now – I can’t ask him to move and learn a new trade.” Indeed, fishing communities such as Hackberry and Holly Beach are critical to Louisiana’s seafood industry, which contributes $3.8 billion to the national economy annually. 90% of those revenues are generated by independent fishermen such as Richard and Sonny Meaux. The profit margins for independent fisheries are narrow and the success of their catch is at the mercy of weather, environmental hazards, and the market. Yet these fishermen love what they do and their drive to work independently, provide a valuable commodity and support their families is a testament to the hardworking, entrepreneurial character idealized by the American Dream.
Loretta and Sonny invited us to visit the site of their home that no longer exists on Holly Beach. As we drove further south on Highway 27, the stench became overpowering. Hurricane Ike’s storm surge washed thousands of saltwater fish inland; as the ocean waters receded, the fish quickly died in the brackish waters of the marshlands. Their mass decay has polluted the marsh waters, killing and displacing native species. We witnessed several alligators uncharacteristically wandering the highway, seeking refuge from the tainted waters.
Upon reaching Holly Beach, we saw row after row of empty slabs where homes once stood. Loretta struggles to keep her composure as she describes the home that she and Sonny rebuilt after hurricane Rita. Though they built higher, not one board or memento survived Ike’s surge. “To lose it once was devastating,” she said. “To lose everything a second time is more than I can process right now.” Nonetheless, Loretta and Sonny are already working to recover. A friend was able to deliver several truckloads of soil and helped them to level their plot and prepare to start over.
After several days of working tirelessly to clean up and begin the long process of putting their lives back together and getting back to the business of fishing, Sonny, Loretta, Susan and Richard are ready for a good night’s sleep – some place with running water and air conditioning. The nearest motels are in Sulphur, LA – about 30 miles away. FEMA has instituted a program whereby their agency will cover hotel stays for hurricane-affected residents whose homes are uninhabitable; however, FEMA has only contracted with major hotel chains, none of which are located anywhere near Hackberry or Holly Beach – communities where residents are most devastated and least likely to have power restored any time in the near future. So residents like the Meauxs have been, for lack of alternatives, essentially camping at their devastated homes and only traveling to Sulphur for occasional relief. As they face the rebuilding process as well severe interruption of their businesses, that presents extreme economic hardship, motel rooms are an unaffordable luxury at the end of most long, hot days.
