Pecan Island resident takes a storm surge seriously

PECAN ISLAND - Whalen Bertrand has been dealing with storm surge since he was 16 years old. Today, he is 80 years old and lives in Pecan Island.
For the last two days, Bertrand, who lives on the westside of Pecan Island, has been getting ready for Hurricane Laura. He has picked up things in his yard and carried them up to his house.
Laura is expected to bring a 7-11 foot storm surge to parts of Vermilion Parish.
Bertrand does not need a weather person to tell him if Laura is dangerous. He only needs to know where along the coast will the storm hit.
If the hurricane is going to hit on the east side of Pecan Island, Bertrand and his wife, Debra, stay home because there will not be a storm surge.
But if the storm hits on the west side of Pecan Island, the Bertrands leave the Island and head north to their camp in Lake Arthur.
On Wednesday, the Bertrands loaded their vehicles and left. As of Tuesday morning,
Hurricane Laura was projected to hit around Lake Charles or near Texas. That meant at least a 7 to 10 foot storm surge for people along the Acadiana coastline.
“That is all I need to know,”said Bertrand.
When most people in Vermilion Parish hear the words, “storm surge” they are reminded of flooding from Hurricane Ike and Rita some 15 years ago. But when Bertrand hears the words “storm surge” he is reminded about his life-threatening ordeal. At the age of 16, he and his family lived in Pecan Island when Hurricane Audrey hit the Cameron Coast in 1957.
A storm surge destroyed many homes in Cameron and Vermilion parish.
There was one home on the ridge that at least 30 Pecan Island residents crowded into during Hurricane Audrey. Unfortunately, Mother Nature sent a powerful storm surge that pushed that house a mile into the marsh. A handful who were in the house drowned.
“That was my worst hurricane,” said Bertrand. “I was caught in it. I remember waves hitting the roof. It was bad.”
Bertrand and Dalton Lege managed to swim to higher ground after the storm moved on.
Hurricane Audrey killed more than 400 people, a majority of them from Cameron Parish.
Because of Bertrand’s experience with Hurricane Audrey, he takes hurricanes and storm surge seriously.
When he built his home in 1989, he made it 10 feet above the ground. He did not flood for hurricanes Rita and Ike while everyone on the Pecan Island did.
Bertrand said he is not tired of dealing with storm surges because they do not happen too often. The last time Pecan Island had a major storm surge was in 2008 for Hurricane Ike. He stayed on the Island and helped clean up.
The Bertands plan to return to their home as soon as it is safe.
“When we get back, we will begin cleaning up around the house,” said Bertrand.