Benny watched his house drift away. Now, his community wants better storm protection

Enlarge this image

Hurricane Ida left several bayou towns like Jean Lafitte, La. devastated by flooding and wind damage.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Enlarge this image

Tammy and Benny Alexie have been married for over 35 years. Until Hurricane Ida, they had lived in the same house in Barataria, La.

Sarah McCammon/NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Sarah McCammon/NPR

Enlarge this image

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex, the world’s largest drainage pump system, was built to protect New Orleans residents from flooding.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Enlarge this image

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida, a barge took out a bridge that divides the towns of Lafitte and Jean Lafitte, La.

David J. Phillip/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

David J. Phillip/AP

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida, a barge took out a bridge that divides the towns of Lafitte and Jean Lafitte, La.

David J. Phillip/AP

But those solutions may have their own unfortunate consequences. Fishers like Benny Alexie who rely on shrimp and crab to make a living do not support this diversion project. He points out that the fresh water from the Mississippi River is going to push away the saltwater fish he has spent 40 years catching to make a living and feed his family.

Benny says he and other fishers were invited to a public hearing about this diversion project. «To me, it just seems like they already know that it’s going to happen no matter what we had to say,» he says.

That feeling of being forgotten is something Benny feels strongly — both as someone who lives outside federal levee protection, and as a fisherman.

«What made New Orleans is the seafood that’s cooked in it, which comes from the bayou people down south,» he says. «So without the bayou people down south, there is no New Orleans. Plenty of people don’t realize that.»

For Benny, it’s not a simple ask to relocate or fish elsewhere.

«Just from working this basic area for 40 years, when I get out there, depending on the tide range, depending on the moon, I know wherever I need to be,» he says. And he worries that passing on the trade of fishing that has been in his family for many generations to his son will be for naught. Yet he sees no other option.

«To me, there is nothing better to do,» he says.

His wife, Tammy, nods in understanding. But she wishes Benny Jr. would choose a different profession. «I’m scared for him,» Tammy says. «I’m scared to see what is going to happen for him, maybe when we’re not here.»

Tammy feels similarly conflicted about staying and rebuilding in Barataria altogether. «I don’t know if I have the strength,» she says, with tears in her eyes.

But she says Benny is determined. So for now, their plan is to wait out the result of their flood insurance claim. Their neighbor, whose house they are temporarily occupying, has told the Alexies they can stay until Christmas.

«I did not want to uproot the kids,» Tammy says. «I said, ‘Let’s try to give them something,’ not that we have anything for Christmas. Everything’s gone. But we are all going to be together.»

After that, the Alexies don’t know where they will go.