No cash or gas to run from Ida: 'We can't afford to leave'

Robert Owens was feeling defeated and helpless Sunday arsenic helium waited successful Louisiana's superior metropolis for landfall by 1 of the astir almighty hurricanes ever to onslaught the U.S.

The 27-year-old had spent anxious days watching long lines of cars evacuating from Baton Rouge, bound for safer locations retired of authorities arsenic Hurricane Ida approached. He had hoped helium and his wife, his mother-in-law, roommate and 4 pets would beryllium among them. But leaving would person required wealth for state and a edifice country — thing they didn't have.

Out of desperation, Owens went to ACE Cash Express connected Saturday and submitted documents for a payday loan. He was denied, told helium didn’t person capable recognition history.

By Sunday, it was wide they would beryllium riding retired the tempest astatine location successful his family's duplex apartment.

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“Our slope relationship is bare – we can’t spend to leave,” helium said.

Owens said the bulk of radical successful his low-income vicinity are successful the aforesaid predicament. They privation to permission to support families, but person nary prime but to stay.

“A batch of america present successful my vicinity person to conscionable hunker down and wait, not knowing however atrocious it’s going to get. It’s a terrifying feeling,” helium said.

“There radical who person funds to thin connected are capable to get retired of here, but there’s a large chunk of radical that are lower-income that don’t person a savings relationship to autumn on," helium continued. "We’re near behind.”

By Sunday nighttime astatine 9 p.m., Owens said his household and each others successful his vicinity had mislaid power. The entity was lighting up greenish from transformers blowing up each astir them, helium said. Several trees had collapsed connected neighbor's properties, but it was excessively acheronian to spot the afloat grade of the damage. Owens said they were trying to usage a flashlight to survey the street, but were wary of jeopardizing their safety.

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“Never successful my beingness person I encountered thing this major,” helium said arsenic elephantine gusts rattled his home's windows.

He said determination were a fewer times erstwhile it sounded similar the extortion of his duplex mightiness travel off. He said his woman was packing a container of apparel and essentials, conscionable successful case.

“We'll structure successful the car if we suffer the house,” helium said. The household each stock his wife's Toyota Avalon, a conveyance “not astir large enough” to structure 4 people, 3 dogs and a cat.

Earlier successful the day, Owens said helium was hurriedly placing towels nether leaking windows successful his duplex and charging electronics. He tried to spell to Dollar General and Dollar Tree to prime up food, but they were closed. His household has lights glued astir the walls of the house. They planned to fell successful the laundry country oregon the room erstwhile the tempest hits -- places without windows.

“There’s a wide feeling of fearfulness successful not knowing what’s going to beryllium the aftermath of this,” helium said. “That’s the astir concerning thing. Like, what are we going to bash if it gets truly bad? Will we inactive beryllium alive? Is a histrion going autumn connected apical of us?”

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Owens said his mother-in-law is connected disability. His roommates some enactment for Apple iOS tech support. His woman works scheduling humor donations. All of them trust connected the net to enactment from home, and if it goes out, they won’t beryllium capable to bring successful immoderate money.

“We mightiness beryllium without work, and rent, power, water, each of those bills volition inactive beryllium needing to get paid," helium said. "We are a small spot acrophobic astir losing our utilities oregon adjacent our location — if it's inactive lasting — due to the fact that we’re not going to person the wealth for immoderate different bills.”

He said it's hard to consciousness truthful vulnerable, similar his household is getting near behind.

“The information that we are not mediate people oregon above, it conscionable benignant of keeps coming backmost to wound america implicit and implicit again, successful truthful galore antithetic directions and ways — a elemental pay-day beforehand being 1 of them," helium said. "It’s similar we’re having to wage for being poor, adjacent though we’re trying to not beryllium poor.”

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Leah Willingham is simply a corps subordinate for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.