Natasha Blunt's life was plunged into darkness long before Hurricane Ida caused the power outages in Louisiana.
During the pandemic, she was evicted from her New Orleans apartment and lost her job in a banquet hall.
In addition, he suffered two strokes
and has a hard time helping his 5-year-old grandson with his homework.
Like nearly a fifth of the state's population, Blunt, 51, lives below the poverty line and
the economic consequences of the pandemic pushed her to the brink.
With the collaboration of a legal aid group and several donors, he was able to move to Chalmette, a town a few miles from New Orleans, and settled in a two-bedroom apartment.
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He was unable to go back to work because he has to use a cane and
take a large number of medications due to his strokes.
However, federal benefits from the pandemic helped her buy food.
Then came Hurricane Ida.
Considered the fifth strongest hurricane that has been registered in the United States, it devastated Louisiana, causing serious damage to the electrical network before heading towards the coast, in addition to causing
major flooding in the northeast of the country.
The death toll has been highest among people like Blunt, who have already lost their livelihoods to the COVID-19 pandemic in a region with great racial and social inequality.
Activists say the small gains that underserved communities and people of color have made since the pandemic began have faded.
Sheryl Campbell walked through the rubble of her home in LaPlace, Louisiana, on September 10, 2021.AP / AP
[Without electricity or water: this is how some Louisiana communities continue nine days after the Ida pass]
"The government is disconnected from what people who have little or no safety net live," said Maggie Harris, a documentary filmmaker and activist who last year created a fundraiser for Blunt and other women who were financially affected by the pandemic. .
“
People are marginalized, they are not paid enough, they have health problems and they are not insured,
and there are few cash assistance or rental benefits so they can be evicted.
The message they give them is that their lives are expendable, ”explains Harris.
As Ida got closer to Louisiana, Blunt noticed that she was getting stronger.
The day before he made landfall, he went to a hotel in Lafayette, more than two hours west of his new home.
But he was only able to stay for a short time because that accommodation was reserved for other evacuated people, so he had to return to Chalmette, despite the fact that the authorities warned that it was not convenient to return to the towns where there was no electricity and basic services failed.
His apartment was completely dark.
Strong winds smashed his bedroom windows and his few belongings - beds, clothing and furniture - were soaked.
He also spent his last dollars to get to the hotel, because he did not receive federal aid for evacuation.
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"It's like I have to start over," Blunt said between sobs as he walked upstairs to his apartment.
Now he sleeps there because his bedroom was destroyed.
“Every time I take a step forward, they push me back.
And I'm tired.
I don't see any way out
”.
Now, Blunt is facing eviction for the second time in a year.
He says his only hope is Social Security and other disability benefits.
Although he submitted his request before the storm, he has yet to receive a response.
Many social safety net programs are often interrupted by natural disasters.
Blunt wants to find a new home, preferably away from the stormy coastline, a place where Kamille, his grandson, can resume his studies without worrying about power outages and the internet.
But he is not very optimistic.
"This is the end of the road,
I don't think I can go on any longer,
" he said.
Samuel Hernandez, 13, was helping his father pick up debris from his home in LaPlace, Louisiana, on September 9, 2021.
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The weight of inequality
Housing rights advocates and anti-poverty activists in Louisiana lament the plight of people in poor areas who have been neglected by government programs.
On many occasions,
aid from anti-poverty programs does not meet the most urgent needs of storm victims
and that, according to activists, is what has happened in the case of Ida.
Since 2000, Louisiana's population has been impacted by 17 storms that caused about a billion dollars in damage.
"One of the things that frustrates us a lot, in terms of the narrative, is that people say, 'Louisiana is very resilient,'" said Ashley Shelton of the Power Coalition for Equality and Justice, a state-owned nonprofit that provides resources and encourages civic participation in underserved communities.
“
We don't want to resist forever.
Yes, we are beautiful and resourceful people.
But when you force people to live in a constant state of resilience, that is oppression.
Systems that don't work need to be fixed, ”Shelton said.
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It also doesn't help that Louisiana's poverty rate is higher than the national average, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
High poverty rates make the prospect of temporary or permanent relocation precarious for people who were already in dire straits before the disaster struck, said Andreanecia Morris of HousingNOLA, an aid program.
"Housing is a critical issue for all of these catastrophes, be it COVID, the economic crisis, criminal justice issues or education," Morris said.
“
Our inability to address racial, gender and poverty biases in housing prevents change on these issues.
There is no greater evidence than our government's response to disasters.
And this occasion is no different ”, warns the activist.
Meanwhile, Louisiana officials raised the death toll in the state to 26.
Of that number, 11 deaths occurred in the city of New Orleans.
According to the authorities, nine deaths were caused by
"excessive heat during a prolonged blackout" and there were two deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.
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State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley noted that 250,000 students have not resumed classes due to the aftermath of the hurricane.
Before Ida, Louisiana schools were operating despite widespread COVID-19 cases, and the use of masks indoors had been implemented.
“We need the kids to get back to school as soon as possible
,” Brumley said.
Across the state, crews have restored power for 600,000 of the 902,000 people who suffered power outages from Hurricane Ida, Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May said in a conference call.
Some 62,000 people remain without running water,
and more than 580,000 users have been advised to boil their water for safety reasons, the state Department of Health reported.
In many neighborhoods, the houses are still uninhabitable.
Some
3,200 people are in large massive shelters around Louisiana, while another 25,000 are staying in hotel rooms
under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's transitional shelter program.
Natasha Blunt at her apartment in Chalmette, Louisiana, on September 6, 2021. AP
[Biden pledges $ 100 billion in direct aid from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana as death toll continues to rise]
The fight to survive
Blunt says he has survived storms since he was born in 1969 when Hurricane Camille struck.
His pregnant mother was transferred to a medical ship to give birth.
The woman laughs at the coincidence of her grandson's name, Kamille.
"It's like the storms are coming looking for me," he said with a laugh.
The memory of Katrina scares her very much.
Blunt was evacuated to Alabama and then Chicago.
When she was safe, she and Kamille's grandfather returned to their home in New Orleans' 7th Ward to tend to the flood damage.
But despite the chaos in Katrina, she says Ida has been worse.
“This was the worst experience of my life, to return to this, to return to the dark.
I am very angry, sick and scared.
Now I can't even sleep,
”he said.
Blunt may decide to leave Louisiana for good, even though he has lived there all his life.
While checking his belongings damaged by the storm, he said that he does not think he can have peace in that state.
Telemundo News Midday, September 6, 2021
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And he is not the only person who thinks this way.
Many people have fled the state after major storms, official data shows.
In the New Orleans metropolitan area, and in Chalmette, the Census Bureau recorded a significant population loss between 2000 and 2020. After Katrina in 2006,
nearly 160,000 residents moved to Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Louisiana's population rebounded as people rebuilt, but since 2016 it has gone down again.
For families left behind despite natural disasters, it seems that each new generation is learning new survival lessons, said Toya Lewis of Project Hustle, a nonprofit organization that organizes street vendors working in the informal economy.
Natasha Blunt looked at the debris in her Chalmette, Louisiana apartment on September 6, 2021.
"No one was prepared to be without power in New Orleans for more than eight days
," Lewis said.
“We are taking advantage of this experience to improve and prosper.
We must begin to organize ourselves for our survival ”.
Blunt says that it doesn't matter where she goes, because she is sure that she will survive.
Even in the dark, she finds some light helping her community, trying to get a power source for a neighbor's respirator, or sharing her car for people to charge cell phones.
"I'll be fine.
I don't hurt anyone and I'm still standing, ”he
often thinks.
Although he has some consolation, he wishes he could offer a better future for his grandson.
"I want us to go to a better place," Blunt said as he helped Kamille with the TV remote control after the power finally came to her apartment.
“I would like to live in a place where I can be stable.
I just want to have stability,
”he says hopefully.
With information from AP and NBC News