Hope is back to coming once a day

The Hurricane Gustav saga continues, but there are signs of hope around Baton Rouge. My brother sent me this photo and I thought it was pretty funny, so I called him. He was trying to make the point that life is slowly returning to Baton Rouge and the hope is contagious - even if it’s just the mail being delivered to houses without power. Hurricane Ike is moving into the Gulf right now; while no one would ever wish a disaster on someone else, the thought of another hurricane pounding the area is keeping things in Baton Rouge tense. In classic Louisiana fashion, locals are jokingly calling it “Hurricane Yikes” and hoping it fizzles out. The revised path has the storm barely missing Louisiana, but no one is taking any chances.

If you look closely in the photo you can see the now-ubiquitous brush piles lining the road and the iconic blue FEMA tarp on the roof in the upper right corner. Lines at FEMA sites are still long (photo below), but more and more people are returning to work or settling into temporary accomodations while their homes are repaired. Photos and updates about traffic, gas stations, schools, and more after the jump:

• Traffic yesterday was nothing short of a nightmare in Baton Rouge. People began returning to work but only 40% of East Baton Rouge parish’s traffic lights are working. An optimistic family member texted me that most of the traffic lights were blinking again (instead of just being off), which I suppose is an improvement.
• LSU will play their football game against North Texas on Saturday, but the location is still TBD.
• Some public elementary and secondary school are set to open Thursday, pending electricity is restored.
• Local businesses are chipping in to help the community. Similar to their effort after Katrina and Rita, chemical plants are setting up temporary trailers on site for employees and their families if their homes were destroyed, flooded, or still without power.
• In advance of Hurricane Ike (and continuing rain in the area) FEMA has setup “blue tarp” sites for residents to put over damaged roofs.
• Text from my mother (who lost her tallest tree in the storm): “Power on! Found gas with only 6 min. wait. Average wait time has been 3-4 hours. It’s been a good day.” All of my family has power restored except our intrepid content producer Jordan (more on that in a later posts).

Lining up for blue tarps before Hurricane Ike

No help here...at least it's on?

Read our Hurricane Gustav coverage