WGNO

City of Thibodaux continues Hurricane Ida recovery

THIBODAUX, La. (WGNO) — Residents are now being welcomed back to the city of Thibodaux, but officials are warning life won’t be back to normal yet.

Electricity is still out in Thibodaux, so families are having to go to gas stations to power generators if they have one or if the gas station has one. Even the pumps that can open for business are quickly closing as fuel runs out.


“This is the third gas station I’ve gone to that they’ve run out of gas before I could get some,” explained Thibodaux resident Ricky Domangue.

He is facing a common problem in the city. Although residents have water, sewage, and gas available at their homes, only those with generators and endless fuel have power. Domangue is down to his last five gallons of fuel having through 40 gallons of gas already.

“I’ve been having it (a generator) for eight years. I never had to use it, but all of a sudden, here it is,” Domangue stated. “I don’t see electricity coming on any time soon, so I’m trying to keep the wife happy.”

“When are we gonna get some help?”, asked Auriel Knockum. Without a generator, she is trying to stay alive in the heat. The mother of eight returned from her Houston evacuation because she ran out of cash and could not contact her family.

“You can’t charge your phones. Nobody is getting, food, ice, water. Nobody is getting nothing,” Knockum lamented.

City officials they are preparing to distribute supplies. Residents were welcomed to return to their homes starting noon Tuesday. Thibodaux City Council President & Volunteer Fire Captain Chad Mire said there is currently no estimate for when power will be restored.

“It looks like Thibodaux probably faired the best out of the northern part of Lafourche parish and also on the northern side of Terrebonne, and so they are going to be setting up a lot of staging from this location,” Mire said.

Anyone who plans to return to Thibodaux will need a driver’s license with a Thibodaux address. Also, be mindful of water on the highways. There is water on Highway 90 going both ways North of Raceland.