The recent flooding in Louisana has left nearly 20,000 residents picking up the pieces and one of those affected says the national media coverage of the devastation caused by the flooding has been disappointing.
Huffington Post reporter Jacques Morel recently visited the state to talk with residents as they deal with the overwhelming aftermath of the storm, and 20-year-old St. Amant native Cody Bourgeois didn’t shy away from speaking out about why he feels mainstream media has dropped the ball with coverage of the flooding. “I think we should be getting more national coverage,” he told Morel. Bourgeois went on to detail some of what he has seen reported so far, expressing particular disappointment with the lack of coverage of local residents affected by the storm. “The other day I saw that CNN posted [and] the only thing they said was an actor from Baton Rouge loses his home due to flooding and all they did was focus on him,” he told Morel. “They didn’t focus on all the heartbreak going around this city, all the others and thousands of people that have been losing their homes.”
The Louisiana Flooding Is Worse Than You Think
Despite his displeasure with the news coverage, Borgeois and others have found comfort and encouragement in the resilient spirit of the Louisiana community. “Every time you get a big flood or you get a hurricane, we all just come together,” he said. “And after the recent events that have been going on across the nation especially in Baton Rouge, with all the police shootings and all, I feel happy to see everyone finally coming together after such dark times for a city like this.”
Weather experts have deemed the 2016 Louisiana flooding as the country’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.