LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisiana man with ties to Kentuckiana is one of hundreds of thousands without power and cell service after Hurricane Ida ripped through the state.
Charles Jenkins grew up in Southern Indiana and later lived in Louisville for 25 years. Since moving away, he's suffered through both Hurricane Katrina in '05, and now Ida.
"I had like 60 text messages that I could not respond to of my family worried -- friends and family in Louisville and Indiana worried about me," Jenkins said.
So Jenkins, without power or cell service in Slidell, Louisiana, (about 30 miles Northeast of New Orleans) drove down those streets to get resources.
"Drove 50 miles," he said.
Videos posted to Slidell Police Department's Facebook page show the aftermath of Ida in that area: Flooding, fallen trees, and in some areas power lines down.
Jenkins was only able to call us once crossing the Mississippi line.
"There was about a quarter of a mile of electric lines snapped in half," Jenkins said.
It's all familiar, Jenkins suffered through Katrina too -- when he lost his home.
"I lived for years with PTSD," he said. "Last night I was more frightened than I was during Katrina just because the eye was overhead. The house was shaking, windows were popping."
This time, Jenkins avoided the worst damage but says Slidell still needs major help.
"I don't have a generator, so whatever I have in my refrigerator is going to be gone by this evening," Jenkins said.
Relief is coming from all around the country, Kentucky included. Workers from Louisville's regional chapter of the American Red Cross, as well as LG&E, already have boots on the ground down south to help in the recovery.
But given the storm's severity, folks like Jenkins are among many waiting for their chance at assistance.
LG&E told WHAS 11 Monday evening that it's sending 35 more line technicians, adding to the 84 who already took the trip.
Also, nine regional Red Cross workers already in the areas hardest hit.
"Manning shelters, feeding, doing disaster assessments," said Steve Cunanan, regional CEO for the Louisville chapter of the American Red Cross. "There are huge outages from an infrastructure standpoint."
It could take some time though to get to everyone, leaving folks like Jenkins planning alternatives if conditions don't improve in the near weeks to come.
"I have not seen any electric lineman in my town of Slidell," Jenkins said.
Jenkins tells WHAS 11 that depending on how long it takes to get power up and running, he'd consider traveling back to Louisville and Southern Indiana to stay with family.
Meanwhile, Cunanan says he expects to send many more workers in the coming days.
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