Zeta Came Ashore Just Under Cat 3 Strength, Taking Residents And Oil/Gas Companies By Surprise
I will evacuate next time a hurricane is forecast to hit the area,” Traditional Chief Shirell Parfait-Dardar of the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi- Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe told me the day after Hurricane Zeta hit Louisiana’s coast on October 28. Like many in the storm’s path, she was caught off guard when the storm intensified just before slamming into the coast.
Parfait-Dardar’s tribe is threatened by climate change regardless of hurricanes. Like the remaining residents of the Isle De Jean Charles that still remain on the island, 30 miles west her tribe’s land could be underwater in as little as 20 years. Inevitably many coastal communities will need to relocate due to sea level rise quickened by climate change. Standing next to a downed power line on Parfait-Dardar’s driveway in Chauvin, Louisiana, about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, she recounted the harrowing experience of being huddled together with her husband and children in the kitchen when 110 mph winds hit.
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Parfait-Dardar is concerned about pollution from the storm, but her first concern is making sure everyone has a roof over their head. As of yet, she hasn’t gotten direct help for impacted tribe members by any local government agencies. Gov. John Bel Edwards established a Climate Initiative Task Force on August 19 this year that Parfait-Dardar was tapped to be on. In a state where many officials are science deniers, she figures she will have her hands full. The day before Zeta hit, she was disheartened to learn Republican legislators suspended the public health emergency declaration by the governor that sought to stop the spread of Covid-19, including mandates that people wear masks in public settings. Although the Governor is challenging this move, the need to push back against science deniers is something she sees as holding back those, like herself, who want to protect their community from the pandemic and a warming planet.
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https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/10/31/hurricane-zeta-leaves-thousands-without-power-oily-mess-heels-laura-and-delta-south-louisiana