Devastation, Chaos, Hope, and Gratitiude!

By Jennifer Lopez, Administrative Staff
Louisiana Department of Transportation and
Development, District 07 - Lake Charles

To sum up HURRICANE RITA in one word, DEVSTATION. In two, CHAOS. In three, Hope and Gratitude. I came back to work on the Sunday after she hit. The first people I saw were crews from Cameron. They were sweating; they were working; they were SMILING. They did not yet know if they had homes or belongings left! And then in the next few days when they knew all was lost, they cried, but still had the biggest SMILES.

Complaints were made that communications were bad. As the only clerical staff, I can tell you there was nothing wrong with the phones. There were so many calls, that I only caught a third of them. This parish was under lockdown for almost 2 weeks. People were calling to see how bad things were; if they could travel on I-10; if they could go home to see about their animals; if anyone knew how this or that neighborhood survived; if they could donate equipment, and Headquarters trying to determine damages, and what assistance we needed. etc. etc.

Also there were the comforting calls from our DOTD relatives offering manpower and equipment, and food and clothing. The first ones here were our neighbors in Hammond offering assistance when they were still in the same shape.

There were so many people here. It was hot! Generators were working to handle the phones and fans and stove. It didn't matter who you were, everyone was in the same boat–some far worse than others. Everyone was willing to do whatever was necessary to put our roads and the lives of our people back together. The wife of one of our supervisors stayed here cooking 3 meals a day for all of our workers.

I hope we never have to go through this again. However as chaotic and painful as it was for so many, there were so many blessings with everyone pulling together under those primitive conditions.