My excuse for not writing about the flooding in Louisiana isn’t great, but here it is. When the rain started on Friday, I was still on vacation. Over the weekend, I focused mostly on other things than the news, and what I wrote was kind of pent up from a week of not writing about the campaign much at all. Monday and today were my chances to get back in the swing of things and formulate my thoughts on the state of the race.
But it’s also true that the Louisiana story hasn’t gotten enough play in the mainstream media, which means that it hasn’t been thrust in my face. I had to go seeking information on what’s going on there.
So, anyway, I apologize for not covering it.
With so-called 1,000-year rains hammering the region for days – in some places measuring 2 feet in less than three days — the National Guard was activated to rescue stranded residents. The self-appointed “Cajun Navy” sprung into action. Ordinary citizens from Grand Isle to Ruston have stepped in to offer what aid they can to victims of what is being called the worst natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012…
…More than 1,000 people had been rescued by Saturday afternoon as rising waters swallowed whole neighborhoods and even whole towns. As of Tuesday evening, that number was at 20,000-plus souls, with more than half of them in shelters. An estimated 75 percent of the homes in Livingston Parish were destroyed. Eleven people so far have been confirmed dead.
It’s a full-blown disaster down there, and fortunately the administration is on the ball even if I and the rest of the media haven’t been.
