AUSTIN, Texas — A Hurricane Ida evacuee in Austin got some good news on Wednesday afternoon. Charles Duffy told KVUE his power was turned back on.
He is one of the hundreds of thousands who were waiting for their electricity to be restored before they return home to Louisiana.
In cellphone footage Duffy shared with KVUE, you can see his New Orleans apartment the day after Hurricane Ida hit. We hear Duffy describe the damage.
"Last night in the other room, the ceiling collapsed. I went in, it was leaking everywhere. I could see it sagging," he said.
Entire parts of the ceiling were lying on the ground. His belongings and glass were scattered everywhere.
Still, Duffy knows the damage could have been worse.
"This is not as bad as it could have been," he said.
Hours before, rains and howling winds announced Hurricane Ida's arrival.
"The later you got, closer to eight, nine, is really where you just heard the constant howling wind gusts. Would you know, I could feel the house shake," Duffy said.
Duffy lives in the South Seventh Ward near the French Quarter. It wasn't hit as hard as the lower parishes.
But Ida knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses in and near New Orleans. That was the deciding factor for Duffy to call his brother in Austin for help.
It took Steve Duffy extra time to drive into the Crescent City.
"It took me more like 10 to 10.5 hours to drive there, and that's pretty much just going straight through," Steve Duffy said.
Charles Duffy has been in Austin for a week-and-a-half, making the most of his second home.
"To me, Austin is like the New Orleans of Texas, with the food, the culture of music, except you have like, hills and trees," Charles Duffy said.
He is enjoying his time now because his road to recovery is a long one. He is expected to leave for New Orleans on Saturday.
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