Aida failed to power New Orleans because it was downgraded to a tropical cyclone

Hurricane Ida has forced some low-income households in Louisiana to stay home because they cannot afford to move gas or hotel rooms to a safer location.

One of them was Robert Owens, 27, who saw a number of cars escape Baton Rouge and remembered the “terrible feelings” of living with his wife, mother-in-law, roommate and four pets.

“Our bank account is empty – we can’t afford to go,” he said.

Desperate, Owens went to ACE Cash Express on Saturday to submit his payday loan documents. However, he was turned down, saying he did not have sufficient credit history.

Hurricane Aida landed on the US mainland at 11:55 a.m. on Sunday and landed west of Port Forchon, Louisiana, and struck the Grand Isle on Barrier Island. It was then that Owens realized that his family would have to survive the storm in their twin apartment.

Owens said the vast majority of people in his low-income areas are in the same predicament. They want to go to protect their families, but they have no choice but to stay.

“A lot of us in my neighborhood just have to look around and wait without knowing how bad it is going to be,” he said.

Baton Rouge’s Robert Owens, 27, said he was afraid a gusty 150 mph wind would tear the roof off his duplex.

Hurricane Aida landed on the US mainland at 11:55 a.m. on Sunday and landed west of Port Forchon, Louisiana, and struck the Grand Isle on Barrier Island.

The girl protected her face from the wind and rain caused by Hurricane Ida in New Orleans on Sunday

“People with reliable money can get out of here, but most low-income people who don’t have a savings account fall,” he continued. “We stay back.”

At 9 p.m. on Sunday evening, Owens said his family and everyone else in his neighborhood had lost power. He said the transformer blew up the area and the sky was green.

Several trees collapsed on my neighbor’s property, but it was too dark to see the full extent of the damage. Owens said he tried to scout the streets with a flashlight but was careful not to compromise security.

“I’ve never seen anything so big in my life,” he said, rattling the windows of his house with a violent gust of wind.

Meanwhile, about 30 miles southeast, authorities announced the storm’s first death after the death of a 60-year-old man when a tree fell on his home in Ascension parish on Sunday night.

More than a million Louisiana customers, including thousands of Baton Rouge, had a power outage as of Monday morning, according to PowerOutage.US, which is tracking power outages across the country.

Owens said it sounded like the duplex roof was about to come off several times. He said his wife packed clothes and bags for essentials just in case.

“If you lose your house, evacuate to your car,” he said. The whole family shares her wife, Toyota Avalon. This is a vehicle that is “not big enough” to protect four or three dogs and a cat.

Utility workers filmed the waves as they hit the seawall on Sunday

As Hurricane Aida approached on Sunday, a man took a picture of the high waves along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.

Earlier that day, Owens hastily put a towel under the leaky window in his duplex and said he was charging his electronics. He tried going to Dollar General and Dollar Tree for food, but they were closed. His family is sticking lights on the walls of the house. They planned to hide in the laundry room or kitchen during the storm – somewhere with no windows.

“There is a general fear of not knowing what the consequences will be,” he said. “That is the main concern. For example, what do we do when things get really bad? Are we still alive? Will the tree fall on us ? “

Owens said her mother-in-law was disabled. His two roommates work for Apple iOS technical support. His wife wants to donate blood. They all rely on the internet to work from home and without the internet they cannot make any money.

“We may not have a job and rent, electricity, water and all those bills have yet to be paid,” he said. “We don’t have money for other bills, so we’re a little worried about losing our utilities and even our house – if it’s still there.”

He said it was hard to feel so vulnerable because his family was left behind.

“The fact that we are not above the middle class is like we keep coming back to bite each other in so many different directions and avenues – easy payday prepayment. Is one of them, ”he said. “We try not to be poor, but it’s like we have to pay for what is poor.