As I write this blog, Louisiana is in the earliest stages of recovering from Hurricane Ida. I have spent the past few days trying to reach family, friends, and colleagues to confirm that they are safe, and to check on their homes. My home flooded during Hurricane Harvey, as did the campus where I worked, and trying to sift through damage on all sides is incredibly daunting.
I am deeply thankful that, despite the devastation, loss of life has been minimal. One hundred percent of the people I have spoken with who live in Terrebone and La Fourche parishes , however, have sustained damage to their homes. Getting back to work isn’t going to happen fast–people will need to secure basic personal safety and necessities like shelter.
After every hurricane I’ve witnessed both personally and professionally, working in disaster response, I am always amazed at how quickly people shift from shock and awe to rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. The people of Louisiana are resilient, and I expect we’ll see many shining examples in the coming weeks, despite lack of power, spotty cell service, boil notices, and heat. Don’t even get me started on mosquitoes.
I was in New Orleans the day the levees broke under the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. As someone who managed supply chain during that entire storm season and many before and since, I can tell you that it will likely be several weeks before the recovery efforts can truly begin.
Think of disaster response in two phases: first, remediation and recovery, and secondly build-back. Remediation involves clearing debris, restoring infrastructure, drying out, and stopping further damage. Recovery and build-back is what comes next, and has the goal of putting things back the way they were.
Only once remediation efforts are well underway we will know the impacts Ida will have on the energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico.