Louisiana Community A Ghost Town A Year After Hurricane Issac

BRAITHWAITE, La.  -- Isaac barely had hurricane-strength winds when it blew ashore southwest of New Orleans a year ago, but its effects are still apparent in coastal areas where it flooded thousands of homes.
After landfall on Aug 28, 2012, Isaac stalled, dumping more than a foot of rain and churning a monstrous storm surge. Water flowed over levees and destroyed homes and businesses in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.
In the end, it was blamed for seven deaths. In Plaquemines Parish, one of the hardest hit areas, damage to homes and businesses has been estimated at more than $100 million, said Guy Laigast, director of the parish's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Two of the deaths from Isaac were in Braithwaite, La., a small community along the Mississippi River near New Orleans that has been all but abandoned since the storm.

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Flying into Isaac

Streets where children once played are eerily deserted. Homes with blown-out windows and toppled porches sit on lots overgrown with weeds reaching past window sills.
The storm left many residents facing prohibitive increases to flood insurance premiums if they choose to move back. Some have spent insurance payouts on houses elsewhere and have asked that their homes in Braithwaite be demolished. Others are taking their time considering whether home improvements or changes to local levees could make it affordable to insure their houses in the future.
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