Well, it seems Lafayette, Louisiana was spared by Hurricane Gustav, relatively speaking.
On Labor Day, sitting in the house listening to the storm battering everything outside, I was praying for Gustav to pass to the east of us. For those of you who have never been in a hurricane, the west side of the storm is the side you want to be on, if you have to be anywhere near it! Hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise, so everything on the northeast side is always the most battered and in danger of storm surge floods.
I estimate that Gustav passed us about 15-25 miles to the east, leaving us relatively untouched. I say relatively because we still got 90 mph winds and rain that took down many tall trees and power lines and poles. Power is still out for many residents here in Lafayette.
Aisling and I stayed with friends during the storm, and this is a picture out their front door after Gustav had passed. Notice how her peach tree is almost blown over .
This is what the next door neighbor's yard looked like afterwards.
Poor Baton Rouge, 75 miles east of Lafayette, was battered by Gustav with a vengeance. 80% of the city is still without power, and they are estimating many residents there will be without power still in another week.
As Aisling and I were driving home to assess the damage, I had her take pictures of the various scenes and differences we saw along our usual route home from our friend's house. I'll go through those pictures tomorrow, and post a few more.
On Labor Day, sitting in the house listening to the storm battering everything outside, I was praying for Gustav to pass to the east of us. For those of you who have never been in a hurricane, the west side of the storm is the side you want to be on, if you have to be anywhere near it! Hurricanes in the Northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise, so everything on the northeast side is always the most battered and in danger of storm surge floods.
I estimate that Gustav passed us about 15-25 miles to the east, leaving us relatively untouched. I say relatively because we still got 90 mph winds and rain that took down many tall trees and power lines and poles. Power is still out for many residents here in Lafayette.
Aisling and I stayed with friends during the storm, and this is a picture out their front door after Gustav had passed. Notice how her peach tree is almost blown over .
This is what the next door neighbor's yard looked like afterwards.
Poor Baton Rouge, 75 miles east of Lafayette, was battered by Gustav with a vengeance. 80% of the city is still without power, and they are estimating many residents there will be without power still in another week.
As Aisling and I were driving home to assess the damage, I had her take pictures of the various scenes and differences we saw along our usual route home from our friend's house. I'll go through those pictures tomorrow, and post a few more.
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