Accountant recounts camping out in flood
BATON ROUGE, La. (10/18/05)--"My furniture was ruined. But I've got my life." That sums up the experience of Gayle Boudreaux, an accountant with the Louisiana Credit Union League, who survived the flood in her house after the New Orleans levee broke in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
Boudreaux was missing for two weeks after communications broke down during the flood before she could contact the league. She finally was able to call the Baton Rouge Service Center because it was the only number she could remember. She spent 30 days without electricity in what she calls "an extended period of inconvenience."
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| Gayle Boudreaux, accountant at the Louisiana Credit Union League, spent 30 days without electricity in her flooded house in New Orleans. (Photo provided by CUNA) |
People call her crazy for not evacuating, she said, but she had weathered hurricanes before that are "too numerable to count"--including Camille, Audrey and Andrew. Besides, she had experience camping in the wilderness.
In the house with her was a daughter in her 30s, who didn't enjoy the experience much, she told reporters with the league's media tour of hurricane-damaged credit unions last week.
"We had water up to the door, and we were worried it might come in." During the storm surge, the water "came in like a river flowing." Meanwhile, "the rain and wind were horizontal. It was kind of exciting. I watched it, peeking from my window. Sheets of plywood, tarps and things were flying around, tearing off things. It was like the tornado in the Wizard of Oz," Boudreaux said.
The storm caused water damage in the laundry room downstairs and some minor roof damage. "I stayed there afterwards and waited for two days" before seeing anyone. "Fortunately, I'm a camper. I had a tent, a barbecue grill and Sterno in the attic. I got out my camping equipment, and cooked upstairs in my bedroom. In the morning I'd have tea and fix eggs. I grilled some steaks from the freezer because I didn't want to waste the food. I pretended I was camping."
On the streets, she saw teenagers in water up to their waist. She kept up with the news with a portable radio and was able to watch a battery-powered television. "It really helped me get perspective on the whole scope of the damage." The batteries wore down, and without electricity, she couldn't recharge them.
No other neighbors stayed, but friends checked in on her periodically and brought her ice.
Why didn't she evacuate? "I have no vehicle. Where would I go?" She shook her head. "Not to a shelter. I had food and water and ice."
She is currently working out of the Shared Branch Service Center in Baton Rouge, glad to be back at work.
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