A New Orleans resident was interviewed by CNN yesterday and wants to know where the heck Biden and FEMA
Many Louisiana residents are still struggling days after Hurricane Ida slammed the state, as they try to rebuild and move on amid dangerous heat, continued power outages and a fuel shortage that's hindering relief efforts.
"We're in the heat. We ain't got no lights. It's been almost like five days," Myra Castro, a single mother in New Orleans, told CNN at a gas station where she said she'd waited two hours to fill her car, where she and her children have been sleeping.
"My kids are hot. We're hungry," she said Thursday, adding, "We need help now. Can y'all help us?"
Without power, many Louisiana residents are relying on gas-powered generators for electricity -- and to stay cool: Heat advisories are in effect for southeast Louisiana, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where the heat index will top 105 degrees.
But access to gas continues to be one of Louisiana's biggest needs following Hurricane Ida, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. Gas station outages are mounting in Louisiana's two biggest cities, with a staggering 68.5% of the gas stations in Baton Rouge and 64.7% in New Orleans out of gas, according to outage reports compiled by GasBuddy.
Those outages are being driven by a combination of spiking demand as people drive out of the region and complications supplying the fuel caused by power outages, analysts said. Tanker truck drivers, for example, often can't fill up if there is no power at terminal racks that dispense fuel at refineries.
In some places, things are tense. Abdullah Hummus, an employee whose father owns a gas station in New Orleans, sat outside Friday with a gun. He told CNN's Adrienne Broaddus there had been "multiple incidents where people have pulled guns on us" after waiting in long lines for gas.
"We're trying our best to help the community in every aspect that we can," Hummus said, adding they have been charging the same for gas as they did prior to the storm and have been giving away ice and water. "Because that's what New Orleans is about -- resilience, helping each other out."
"We're trying our best to keep peace and order," he said, "but our best, it's not enough right now."
As of Friday afternoon, there were still nearly 826,000 customers without power in Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.US.
Eric Mertz, a resident of St. Rose in St. Charles Parish, just west of New Orleans, told CNN he's been on oxygen treatments after spending two weeks in the ICU last year with Covid-19. But now he has no power, no air conditioning and no lights.
"I'm just wondering where the help is," he said.
Tags: Joe Biden, New Orleans, President Joe Biden
Trang Trước
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments: