Uprooted trees from a combination of rain, flooding and wind caused damage around south Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura.

As Iberia Parish reels from the effects of Hurricane Laura, many in town are grateful that the effects of the storm were less than predicted while also extending their well wishes to the parishes that were less lucky.

With the deadly predictions that were on everyone’s mind at the beginning of last week, many in the parish were less than hopeful about the effects the Category 4 storm would have in the parish.

Iberia Parish President Larry Richard said Thursday that the parish had been “blessed” by wind and rain that was far less damaging than it could have been.

That sentiment was echoed by many in the parish. On Main Street in New Iberia, local resident Lisa Lourd said she stayed in her 80-year-old house for the hurricane and simply hoped her home would be able to withstand the damage just like it had through hurricanes it has seen through the decades.

“It had been through some storms, so I was just hoping and trusting it would make it through this one,” Lourd said.

That hope turned out to be well-placed. Lourd said she and the majority of the Main Street community came out pretty clean by the time Laura had left Iberia Parish.

Although there were some downed branches and about 24 hours without power, Lourd said she was thankful that the worst had not happened in the area.

“We were very fortunate, definitely,” she said.

On Bank Street, local resident Gilbert “Doc” Thomas echoed a similar sentiment. Thomas said his home personally sustained minor damage. Some of his acquaintances had flooding issues to deal with, but he agreed that the storm could have been worse.

At the same time, Thomas said he felt for those who had not been so lucky in southwest Louisiana and east Texas.

“If it’s good for you that means it’s bad for someone else,” Thomas said. “My heart is really in Lake Charles, I’m praying for them.”

While many around the state have compared the effects of Hurricane Laura to Hurricane Rita in 2005, some in the community have looked at examples further back.

Joe Judice, a Loreauville resident, said he remembered as a child Hurricane Hilda ripping across southwest Louisiana and the devastation it caused in the area.

“People forget how bad Hurricane Hilda was,” Judice said. “I remember going to the school in Loreauville when it happened in 1964 and we were all just hoping we would have a home to go back to.

“When we got back, all of the tractor sheds were gone, I’m sure the wind must have been 120 miles per hour,” he added. “There was a water tower that fell in Erath during the hurricane. It just gives you some perspective.”

Judice didn’t undercut the damage of Laura, however. Like most in the area, he said he was praying for the residents in parishes that were still sustaining damage from the hurricane and would have to remember.

“I think we have a Cajun tenacity,” he said. “People here, they pick themselves back up and keep fighting.”