Natural disasters can cause a storm of emotions. After Hurricane Laura pounded parts of Gulf coast, people lost power and hope.
“People are getting aggressive,” said a local man. “They’re getting angry, you know.”
In Alexandria, Louisiana, people are pushed to their limits. They are tired and hungry, but unable to feed their bodies or get good rest. Forget looking for a way to recover and rebuild, right now these people are just trying to get through the day.
“Oh, yeah. they’re panicking, man,” said one local man. “Road rage. running stop signs.”
Often when power goes down, opportunities pop up. Lee Evans drove a trailer of generators down from Birmingham, Alabama.
“They start at $650 and then they go up to $1,850 for the 10,000’s,” he told potential customers.
Many people are paying top dollar, even if they can barely afford to.
“You got to survive someway,” said Gerald Cooper of Pineville, after purchasing one.
Even local police are looking to make a purchase and avoid the long lines at the Lowe’s across the street.
Across town at the local gas station, the pumps are off and people are running on empty.
“Losing a home was bad enough and then come up here they treat you like this,” said one woman whose house was destroyed in Lake Charles. “It’s wrong.”
“I don’t know if I can take one more thing,” she said.
As people struggle to survive on ground zero, they look to a higher power.
“If ya’ll got some strong prayer teams,” said one local, “pray for us because we need it here in Louisiana.”