Let's try this again. Get an atlas.
Went too Abbeville, Louisana Friday with my bride, the Hen, too the home of a friend who was having a dinner party. Went the usual route, Houston to Winnie to Pt Arthur, eastward into Louisianaalong LA 82.
From Pt Arthur to Johnsons Bayou, which is a bayou not a town, the damage was minimal. This is due to the structures being relatively new and built well abouve land on pilings. The commercial and industrial complexes were operating but showed repairs being made.
From johnson's Bayou to holly Beach is 27 miles and has no structures, residential or commercial. The land is flat, marsh and salt grass flats about 3 feet above sea level.
Holly Beach WAS a community of about 500 structres-camps and small commercial businesses. Most of the residences were on pilings about 8 feet above the ground. There is no more Holly Beach. It is gone, along with most pilings. What is there now are two very large ocean going barges. These are about 500 yards off the beach and about 5 or 10 yards from the Road ROW, plus one large gulf bouy which was stationed about 50 miles into the Gulf prior to the storm.
From Holly Beach to Cameron is 10 miles of the same low marsh and salt grass flats. No structures.
Cameron is located at the point the ship channel from Lake Charles enters the Gulf. To get across the ship channel the stae operates a ferry. The west side of the ferry landing shows damage but is operational. On this side are 4 large Gulf shrimpers beached about 50 yards on land.
Cameron does not exist. The only building left is the Parish Courthouse built from concrete.
All buildings in Cameron are gone, schools, hospitals, churches, businesses, residences. from Cameron to Forked Island is 86 miles. There is nothing operational. there are no homes which are habital if they are not destroyed. We had need to detour around a damaged bridge [about a 8 mile detour], nothing is left.
The damage stops about 8 miles from Abbeville.
Pray for these folks.
Blessings
