The infrastructure of this community is destroyed. There is no sense to rebuild it.

Put people in new developments at higher elevations where there are functioning hospitals, schools, and groceries. The Greenland Ice Sheet is causing sea-level rise that will result in chronic flooding and the return of storms that will devastate these areas of the Gulf Coast.

These people are now climate refugees and must be relocated to where they are safe. It is unacceptable to allow people back into their homes if the public infrastructure around them is gone.

September 3, 2021

City utility workers Fredrick Patrick, left, and Ron Fletcher look for a water meter to help stop a water leak around a destroyed building as residents try to recover from the effects of Hurricane Ida Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Houma, La.

Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana - The Terrebonne Parish President (click here) provided an update on damage across the parish from Hurricane Ida.

Communications are still strained due to widespread damage from the category four storm.

The parish said although utility providers and communication companies are working to restore water, sewer service, electricity, phone and internet service, damage assessment and recovery efforts in Terrebonne in the wake of Hurricane Ida are proceeding much slower than hoped as a result.

Damage assessment reports that have been filed in the Emergency Operations Center Friday indicate substantial and widespread structural damage throughout the parish, particularly in Terrebonne’s bayou communities.

In these areas, damage to residences rendered about 60% of them unsafe for human habitation. In these areas, road clearing efforts are underway, according to the parish.

"The lack of water pressure, electricity, and blown-out windows and roof damage have also forced the closure of hospitals in Terrebonne Parish. Patients in these facilities, some in intensive care units or on ventilators had to be evacuated to hospitals in Shreveport and Lafayette, Louisiana, as well as facilities in Mississippi and Texas. With the forced closure of these hospitals and others in the region, there is no way to treat trauma victims or even the elderly with medical issues that require hospitalization. The lack of medical facilities in the parish and region greatly complicates the return of evacuees to Terrebonne. There is no way to accurately predict the restoration and availability of utility service in the parish and when reentry may begin. Consequently, recovery, repair and restoration efforts in Terrebonne will take a great deal of time," Parish President Gordon Dove said in an issued statement....