This year's hurricane season made history when Ida became the second most damaging storm in history to hit Louisiana, making landfall on the 16th anniversary of Katrina. As the grid is gradually restored throughout the state, thousands in the hardest hit areas still remain without power. Many have lost everything.
Footprint Project has been on the ground in Louisiana since September 3 deploying solar + batteries to communities affected by Hurricane Ida. Our team hit the ground running in New Orleans where we were welcomed with open arms at the NOLA VFW. As the lights began to come back on in the city, we knew we needed to head south, where the eye of the storm ravaged the rural bayou and coast. Power is not estimated to return to some parts until the end of September.
Before deploying any of our solar generator equipment, we send site assessment teams out into the field to ensure we are getting power to where it's needed most. We connect with local responders already hard at work in their communities and ask "How can we help power your mission?"
A community kitchen in Houma needed power for refrigeration and freezers to distribute nourishing meals. A church in Bourg needed to run laptops and WiFi to process FEMA paperwork for those without access to internet or a computer. The tribal center in Pointe-au-Chien needed refrigeration and phone charging for their well-stocked and highly-visited supply distribution site. A family in Barataria housing neighbors who lost everything and coordinating their bayou community's recovery efforts was driving to Mississippi daily to find gas for their generator. A low-income housing facility for senior citizens in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans needed a few simple batteries to plug in a lamp or run a nebulizer.
Footprint Project was able to assess and fulfill the power needs at each of these community sites. While the needs have been different, the guiding light is the same. From every walk of life, we encountered the desire for both immediate aid and long-term resiliency.
We'll be in SE Louisiana until the power comes back on in every corner of the bayou. Next, we'll partner with our resiliency hubs to do trainings and community trailer builds so they'll have the tools and knowledge to build back greener after the next storm.
Thank you to our Ida response partners & supporters
