Many residents are still dealing with the aftermath of severe weather, one resident says he was shocked that he experienced two storms in one week.
CEO of Cajun Navy Ground Force, Rob Gaudet helps residents across the United States with disaster relief. However, last week he was helping members of his own community after two storms hit across Acadiana. Gaudet says the second storm caused more damage.
“We had a storm Monday night and I was surprised to see another one happened just three days later and it was worse than the first one," Gaudet said. "We had more branches down and more damage in our community here than we had the first time around.”
Gaudet tells me the lightning was intense.
“I had never seen that many lightning strikes, and the wind was so intense," Gaudet said. "Later on I found out it was over 5,000 lightning strikes in about 15 minutes in this area.”
Gaudet told me from his experience the best way to recover from a disaster is to be vocal about your needs.
“Don’t be afraid to reach out to people, go to your church, your community and ask for help, it’s okay to ask for help, sometimes I think people are afraid to do that," Gaudet said. "That’s our pride, It makes us think we can do it ourselves, but when you have a 300 pound branch in your yard, you need help and don’t be afraid to ask.”
There’s only so much residences can do before preparing for a storm, Gaudet advice is to build your network ahead of time.
“The best thing you can do beforehand is build your network and make sure you can rely on someone for help or who in the community may need your help,” Gaudet said.
For more resources regarding severe weather clean up you can visit Cajun Navy Ground Force's Facebook page.
