Hurricane Ida made landfall in the United States yesterday as a category 4 hurricane and is one of the most powerful to ever hit the country. However, for one Newfoundland expat now living in New Orleans, it is a familiar kind of community camaraderie that’s getting her through.

Maureen Basha, originally from Corner Brook, first moved to Louisiana four years ago.

In that time, she says she has seen some bad storms, noting that she once had a car that was “totaled” due to flooding, and did evacuate when Hurricane Barry hit the region in 2019.

She’s not as worried about the city of New Orleans as she is about coastal communities, which she says could see “catastrophic” damage from the storm.

Worst case scenario is that she’ll lose some of her belongings but she isn’t worried about getting hurt.

She says the sense of community in New Orleans is similar to Newfoundland in that they’re all friendly and helping each other out, noting that her friend Hank is staying with her through the storm. He was born and raised in New Orleans.