VERMILION PARISH, LOUISIANA — Flooded wildlife, Stranded amid the wet mess, left by hurricane Barry.
And the Vermilion Parish sheriffs department, takes a look at all of it.
“We got some trees covering power lines,” said James Gleason of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Department High Water Rescue Team.
“It’s not just rescue missions that we use our vehicles for, we have to be able to access the high water just to go out and see people that live in these low-lying areas.”
Gleason surveys damage multiple times a day
“It’s just crazy because this isn’t a lake, that’s all pasture and marsh, but it’s just water as far as you can see, ”he explains.
Gleason says, in addition to rescues, keeping people informed is a priority
“They are going to need to be able to gauge how long is it going to be before we can return so we come out regularly every couple of hours and we will leave markers in certain areas and mark where the levels are so we can come back and constantly check on them,”he said.
Sunday afternoon, boating through what’s normally farmland, seeing ducks swim through what’s typically a road and otters on someone’s porch, Gleason says it’s a moment that puts things in perspective.
“What people don’t realize is how much the agriculture industry will take a hit. Even though the devastation might not be as bad at homes and businesses the financial loss for an agricultural community like it is here, man it can be millions of dollars, losing all this sugar cane can be detrimental to a community like this.” he said.
So Gleason along with the rest of the water rescue team... keep circling ... Waiting...
To let people know when they go back home.
