Gustav's Legacy

The storm is gone, but its memory lingers.

Checkpoints, power outages frustrate Gustav evacuees

...The state's power grid sustained severe damage from Gustav, officials say, and it could be weeks before all of it is repaired. Frustrated motorists poured back into the state Tuesday hoping to return home, only to be turned back at checkpoints on all the major highways. Many grew frustrated as they roamed the state like gypsies or sat in motels they could scarcely afford, their cash running low and no way to get more.

"No power, no tissue, no phone, and the lady just came to collect the rent," said elementary school teacher Shondrelle Paul, who with her 11-month-old baby and sister were holed up at the Budget Inn in Gonzales, La. "Money is getting thin."

With no electricity Tuesday, ATMs could not dispense money and restaurants could not open to feed people still unable to return home. Communication was made difficult by spotty cellular and Internet service.

Dozens of hospitals were still running on generator power, several without air conditioning, and there were fears that hundreds of patients might have to be evacuated in the next few days. Only one hospital in New Orleans had the capacity to provide dialysis — though all but one were up and running — and two in the Alexandria area were running low on drinking water.

Convoy after convoy of vehicles — from ambulances to utility repair cherry-pickers to tree removal trucks — rolled into a state that was smacked hard by the storm that blew in Monday. Across southern Louisiana, town after town sat without power. In Village St. George, bands of rain on the back side of Gustav added to confusion after a large power transformer was toppled, leaving cables snaking across all the lanes of Interstate 10 in both directions.