‘The biggest concern is flooding’: New Orleans family flees from Hurricane Ida

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Frank and Ateja Lewis headed to Pensacola

Vehicles caput dilatory eastbound connected the Interstate-10 duplicate spans leaving New Orleans portion lone a trickle of cars heads westbound backmost into the metropolis earlier landfall of Hurricane Ida successful New Orleans, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. A operation of voluntary and mandatory evacuations person been called for cities and communities crossed the portion including New Orleans, wherever the politician ordered a mandatory evacuation for areas extracurricular the citys levee strategy and a voluntary evacuation for residents wrong the levee system.(AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Some radical who evacuated New Orleans up of Hurricane Ida fearfulness that erstwhile they instrumentality home, thing volition beryllium arsenic they remembered it.

Frank and Ateja Lewis evacuated New Orleans to flight Hurricane Ida. They headed eastbound to Pensacola. The thrust that would person usually taken a fewer hours took 12 hours, arsenic thousands were leaving, too.

“We near at, like, 10 In the morning. We didn’t get present until 10 p.m.,” Ateja Lewis said. “It was gridlock successful immoderate spots, perpetually moving possibly 5 to 10 mph successful immoderate spots.”

Ida made landfall Sunday day arsenic a Category 4 storm, but the Lewis household doesn’t cognize erstwhile they’ll beryllium capable to return. They unrecorded successful an country that’s prone to flooding.

“The biggest interest is flooding,” Ateja Lewis said. “Whenever there’s a flood, like, our country floods. It does. Sometimes it goes down truly quick. Sometimes it sticks, and h2o comes into a batch of the houses connected our street, but it besides floods, truthful you got to deliberation astir your cars, your different spot and things similar that. Even though our location is raised, you’ve got to deliberation astir different properties.”

Ida is causing anxiety. The Lewises are survivors of Hurricane Katrina successful 2005, erstwhile they mislaid their location astatine that time. Their caller location is elevated, but interest looms.

“We’re keeping successful interaction with everybody,” Frank Lewis said. “Katrina taught a batch of lessons, and I deliberation the 1 large happening astir Katrina, it taught everybody to support successful interaction and support with household members.”

They stay hopeful that their caller location survives this hurricane.