Vote to stay above water

Published 6:00 am Sunday, October 29, 2017

This year has brought about a record number of hurricanes into the Gulf of Mexico. I am 63 years old and have lived my entire life in Iberia Parish. Never before have we been inundated with flooding in and around so many different areas of Iberia Parish that never used to flood at all. The regular frequency of flooding both in the city limits of New Iberia as well as rural parts of our parish is what we are now faced with. Every time a hurricane is identified by the National Weather Service, we here in Iberia Parish, instinctively begin to think and talk as to whether or not it is “our turn.” We were on the fringes of “Katrina” and “Rita” with a few exceptions of severe flooding in the Delcambre area. As a result of Hurricane Rita, the town of Delcambre lost population, as well as, substantial business losses in that community.

For the next three years, FEMA came into that town and spent millions of dollars elevating houses because the federal government has said it will not provide federal money for future disaster recovery efforts should another hurricane pay it a visit, as did Rita. Overall, the mindset in Washington D.C. is that Congress is tired of paying for repetitive claims on the very same real estate over and over in coastal areas that are at a certain base flood elevation. That is the reason they poured millions of dollars to elevate homes in Delcambre and Erath following Hurricane Rita, effectively drawing a line in the sand, if you will, with regards to the ongoing debate of disaster assistance from FEMA.

In Iberia Parish, because of the recent revisions of the flood zone areas, as well as the frequency of property claims by our residents, homeowner’s insurance rates have skyrocketed. People are waking up to the realization that it is much more expensive to live in certain parts of Iberia Parish because their costs for replacement is well over and above areas that are north of us. We can now do something about our situation if we so choose. Up until now, we are at the complete mercy of “Mother Nature.” When a storm is identified by the National Weather Service as one that could potentially enter the Gulf of Mexico and head our way, all we can do today is “pray.” What we are now attempting to do relative to all of this is to build a “Hurricane Protection Levee” with a system of floodgates, barge gates and huge suction pumps that could be actuated in advance of a major storm event to effectively minimize potential flooding by draining all of the major tributaries that drain into Iberia Parish. Yes, we are smart enough to protect ourselves from such an event by first demonstrating to the state and federal government, that we are willing to put up our pro-rate share of the funds necessary to build our 19 miles of levee here in Iberia Parish.

Please join in making a difference in our community with regards to protecting our way of life. We can only hope and pray that we will put in place those infrastructure needs that can guarantee our children and grandchildren a safe place to live and raise their families. Please support the proposition on the ballot on Nov. 18 so that “we can stay above water.”

Craig F. Romero

New Iberia