Xander’s not here right now because duh, Ida.
Three of the Scalawag crew live in New Orleans, including Xander, and they’re all dealing with the fallout of the hurricane—Virginia bailed to Birmingham, Ko’s on her way back to the city to evacuate friends, and Xander, after weathering the worst of the storm, finally left yesterday in the aftermath. The power’s out. He had to choose between using the last bit of his fuel for the generator, or for getting the hell out of town.
Scalawag originally launched Salt, Soil, & Supper during the 2020 hurricane season because of storms like Ida, and our region’s inability to deal with the increasing pressure climate change is putting on our infrastructure. Our interview this week consists of updates from our team members as they figure out what to do next, like so many other folks across the South.
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Xander Peters, Scalawag's contributing Gulf Coast writer and Salt, Soil, & Supper curator: We had some damage but other than that we made it through. From what I’m hearing, we could be out of power for up to two weeks. Asked a buddy at Entergy what those lines going down means, and he says it’s bad news...
I hit a wall earlier after realizing how physically/emotionally worn down I am over the last couple days. I was at a point last night where it looked like the street was flooding, and I didn’t know if there’d been another levee breach—so I was thinking about breaking into the two story house across the street to climb up to the second floor if we needed a bug out plan... We’re about to grill out and feed the folks on our block now.
Ko Bragg, Scalawag's Race & Place Editor: Ko fled to family in Neshoba County, Mississippi on Friday, but returned to New Orleans today to check in on her folks without cars.
“My relationship with the Deep South is one of coming and going, of guilt and pride, of privilege and loss,” she wrote yesterday for The Lily. "As Ida churned in the Gulf of Mexico, and I took a highway north to Mississippi, these feelings stirred, too. My great-grandparents fled Mississippi in the 1880s because of a white supremacist disaster that claimed an uncle’s life. They went north somehow, rebuilt a life in Washington, D.C., and most of my family has been based out of the South ever since. A decade ago, my mother and I returned to live in Mississippi.”
Ko is popping back into NOLA today to see her house and neighbors, to bring in some supplies, and to get some cash to people who need it bad. You can donate to her personal efforts, too.
Virginia Walcott, Scalawag's Visual Editor: Ida has set in stone for me how much of a metaphorical (and maybe soon literal) island we are on in Louisiana and the Gulf South. As I started my evacuation journey, crashing with family and friends in Mississippi, Birmingham, and Alabama, I watched Instagram fill up with my New Orleans community putting in serious work to raise funds and organize. It was a beautiful example of solidarity that almost immediately highlighted the lack of a coordinated national response. As Ava Duvenrnay Tweeted, "No power. Sewage out. No water. Nearly 1 million structures in Louisiana affected. It’s 89 degrees there as I type this. Jefferson Parish estimates 20 days to restore power. We haven’t heard from any crew member west of Orleans Parish. No cell/internet. Why isn’t this trending?"
I'm safe at my parents' house near Mobile and waiting on word from Entergy about when power will be restored to the city. I'm raising money for mutual aid groups both within New Orleans and in the more Southern, rural parishes that were directly in Ida's path as well as planning a trip back this weekend to check on a few people and places. Structural damage is only the beginning of the work that lies ahead, as so many residents are now faced with finding temporary housing and income for much of September. Storms like this are much more than physical disruptions to our surroundings and should be treated as such.
Over the next few weeks, you can expect Xander to stay with the storm and those most affected by it. Though the waters rise and the winds squall, this is our home, and we’ll still be here after the newscycle moves on.
We also want to hear from you—about what you’re seeing, and what stories are missing from regional and national coverage. Reply to this email and let us know what’s going on in your area.
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Southerly, Carly Berlin
“As climate change worsens and extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, southwest Louisiana’s plight shows how U.S. disaster aid systems are not designed to handle multiple disasters in one place, and do not account for how crises compound on one another, making it difficult for many people to find stability.”
Biloxi Sun Herald, Bailey Aldridge
“Ida pushed in so much water from the Gulf of Mexico that engineers detected a negative flow in part of the Mississippi River. A graphic from the U.S. Geological Survey showed the river’s discharge dropping as low as minus-39,900 cubic feet per second in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, early Sunday afternoon.”
The Associated Press, Janet Mcconnaughey, Michael Kunzelman, & Jeff Amy
“The levees, floodwalls and floodgates that protect New Orleans held up against Hurricane Ida's fury, passing their toughest test since the federal government spent billions of dollars to upgrade a system that catastrophically failed when Hurricane Katrina struck 16 years ago."
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Grist, Adam Mahoney
“The city elevated an 'anti-looting' task force without mentioning how police would offer supportive services as the entire city lost power.”
Mississippi Today, Geoff Pender & Bobby Harrison
"According to environmentalists, the $9.4 billion facility could release up to 13 million tons of greenhouse gases a year.”
Grist, Adam Mahoney
“Hurricane Ida has battered one of the poorest regions of the country, driving floodwaters into neighborhoods along the Gulf Coast and those along the Mississippi River in Louisiana... Thousands will likely be without shelter for weeks or even months. A move by the Supreme Court last Thursday could make the struggle to find housing even worse.”
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No recipe this week. If the power’s out, take whatever hasn’t spoiled in the fridge and throw it on the propane grill. Make sure you share with your neighbors.
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