For so many St. Charles Parish residents, the storm closing in this week brought back unpleasant memories of Hurricane Ida and a difficult time preferably placed in the rear-view mirror of their lives.
For some families, however, Ida remains a ghost they just can’t shake.
Hypolite Nazio and his family of five live in a trailer that was donated to them after six weeks of living in temps and tarps in the front yard of their Paradis home following Ida.
There’s been no return to their home since 2021; there isn’t one in the cards. The storm left it completely uninhabitable, and about a year ago the Nazios were informed by St. Charles Parish the house would have to be demolished.
“After the storm hit, I knew a section of it had to be torn down. It was damaged really bad, but I was hoping to be able to save the front part of it,” Nazio said. “But the whole inside of the house, it was totally wet. There was no way to actually save it.”
The back end of the roof on Nazio’s home was completely blown off by Ida. A power pole had been ripped from the ground and was on the back of the house. And the storm shifted the home entirely off of its base.
But rebuilding is another issue entirely, and a difficult one. Costs are high and it’s a task that can seem more daunting by the day.
“It’s not unlike anyone else … people are out here struggling to buy food because everything is so expensive,” Nazio said. “So talking about rebuilding, it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘alright, let’s go.’ The price of everything makes it tough.”
Nazio said options are limited in terms of assistance as well.
“We’ve been trying to go through LA Restore, but this is a family property and the property is in the family’s name, not my name,” said Nazio. “They told me the property would have to be in my name for them in order to help me.”
He said he’s working on getting the property in his name, and looking into a trailer to go there that would serve as a longer-term home if building something proves unrealistic, cost wise.
Upon returning from evacuation in Texas following Ida and learning that their home would be uninhabitable for the foreseeable future, the family made the decision they would live in tents outside of their home before figuring out a permanent solution.
An outdoorsman at heart, Nazio downplayed the rough conditions and even noted his children looked at their situation as “a big camping trip.” But the weather was getting colder, and attempts to shore up a more stable living arrangement were seemingly running into a dead end.
After many weeks of camping outside their damaged home, the Nazio family was offered a trailer to live in, a gesture that came completely unexpected.
“I heard him say something about giving us a trailer, and I thought, ‘Wow, that doesn’t sound right,’” Nazio said. “I told my wife and she asked about when they would want it back … no, I think they want to give it to us, to keep. She said the same thing I did.
“But I called them back and he said he could have it to us in an hour and a half. I could have never imagined.”
Nazio felt like he was getting the runaround from FEMA and the state as he attempted to secure a trailer.
One day he was speaking to the pastor of his church – venting, as he described it – and spoke of the family’s uncertain situation. The latter decided to make a few calls, including to several news outlets, to attempt to shine some attention on the Nazios’ situation, and secure some help along with that.
A Twitter post about the situation by FOX8’s Josh Roberson caught the attention of Matt Rookard of the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority. The post included photos of the Nazios’ home and their temporary “tent village” living quarters. Rookard’s group used its connections to secure a trailer for the family.
Nazio said he and his family are grateful to this day.
“It’s better than when we were living in the tents. There’s a roof over our heads and we don’t have to run for cover every time it rains,” he said.
Still, it’s a drastic shift from pre-Ida life. Nazio, however, maintains perspective.
“Mentally, we’re doing pretty well,” he said. “Do we struggle at times? Yeah, but we’re thankful that we have a place to stay. Some people have had to relocate to a whole other state. We lost everything … we didn’t relocate. We had the knowledge to be able to live in tents as long as we did, and then we were blessed by someone who wanted to help with the camper. We just take everything day by day.”
