JACKSON, MISS– As the flood waters in Louisiana receded, the devastation buried beneath mud, mold, and debris became exposed.
David Scott, an electrician, traveled to Denham Springs, Louisiana to assist in recovery efforts and said the damage is more than anyone could fathom.
“It’s heart breaking! It doesn’t take any imagination at all to put yourself in their shoes, to wonder what you would do if that was you,” said Scott. “I’ve thanked God so many times that I don’t live in a flood zone.”
Scott said that just to drive through the neighborhoods is sensory overload.
“The smell that you smell as you walk past all the debris, which are the victims entire lives that they are hauling to the curb,” Scott described, “It almost makes you wonder if by simply smelling it is going to make you sick.”
Scott described rows of homes, with piles of ruined clothes, carpets, and other belongings out front. He said the smell further intensifies the sight of seeing piles of belongings–piles of everything these homeowners lost.
“The worst of them all is the refrigerators full of food that has soured. That’s the worst smell of it all,” said Scott. “But just to see and know that everything that sits at the streets waiting to be picked up was at one time people’s normalcy, that’s traumatic.”
Scott specializes in disaster recovery, restoring power to thousands after tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods.
“This storm reminds me so much of hurricane Katrina on so many levels,” said Scott. “I worked along the Mississippi Gulf Coast as well as Slidell after Katrina and to see all the debris at the streets brings back too many bad memories.”
The people of Louisiana need more than just supplies.
“They need backbone,” he said. “They need physical help tearing out the walls and such so their houses can start drying. They need a little bit of normalcy. They need to know that the people outside of their area care about them enough to extend the American hand of love and support.”
For information on how you can help Louisiana flood victims, click here.
