Hurricane Delta posed a particularly dangerous threat to Louisiana as much of the exact same area was previously hit by Hurricane Laura just six weeks ago.  With massive amounts of debris from Laura still in the cleanup process Hurricane Delta was poised to deliver a troubling double-whammy.  However, that said, first responders and state officials are saying there were no fatalities from Delta – Prayers Answered.

[Via ABC] Hurricane Delta, now a tropical depression, made landfall near Creole, Louisiana, on Friday evening, with nearly 11 million people in the storm’s path. More than 600,000 power outages were reported across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi early Saturday afternoon as the storm’s remnants moved further inland.

Delta is now expected to move across western and northern Mississippi before heading into the Tennessee Valley tonight and Sunday. (more)

Material stuff can be replaced, people cannot.   Now the incredible heroes from across the United States will move in to begin restoring power. Massive numbers of power crews are working to rebuild the grid; tens of thousands of tons of debris being removed. [Much of what is now called “debris” represents the cherished belongings of thousands of lives.]

Now it’s time to try and restore some sense of normalcy for those who have been impacted, and commit to a long-term rebuilding process. Stay strong. Thousands have staged. Help is on the way…

“It was quite a night,” Lake Charles resident Don Dixon said as he cleaned up branches and assessed his home in the Louisiana city. Dixon worried as the rain poured and the wind howled, but the damage was not as bad as he had feared.

“All in all, we got punched in the face, but we’re getting back up,” Dixon said.

Anther resident, Caleb Cormier, drove around all morning, and said most of the damage he’d seen was debris on the roads and one downed electrical line.

“It really is nowhere near the amount of damage that Hurricane Laura did, and I’m very grateful for that,” Cormier said as he cleared up tree branches and garbage from the street so it wouldn’t be a hazard for passing cars.

Still, damage reached far inland, with trees shorn of leaves and falling onto streets in Louisiana’s capital of Baton Rouge. Widespread power outages were also reported. LINK

A glorious melding of dirty fingernails all arriving for the recovery meet-up. Depending on your proximity to the bigger picture objectives at hand, you will cherish their arrival.

Recovery teams will begin a street-by-street review; everything needs to be evaluated prior to thinking about beginning to rebuild a grid. Your patience within this process is needed; heck, it ain’t like you’ve got a choice in the matter…. so just stay positive.

Meanwhile, you might walk outside and find yourself a stranger in your neighborhood.

It will all be cattywampus.

Trees gone, signs gone, crap everywhere, if you don’t need to travel, DON’T.

I mean CRAP e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.

Stay away from power-lines.

Try to stay within your immediate neighborhood for the first 36-48 hours. Keep the roadways and main arteries clear for recovery workers, power companies and fuel trucks.

Remember, when it is safe to drive, every single intersection must be treated like a four-way stop…. and YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION. Even the major intersections.

You’ll need to override your brain tendency to use memory in transit. You’ll need to pay close attention and watch for those who ain’t paying close attention. Travel sparingly, it’s just safer.

Stage one recovery focuses on major arteries… then secondary… then neighborhood etc. It’s a process. Oh, and don’t get mad if your fancy mailbox is ploughed-over by a focused front end loader who is on a priority mission to clear a path. Just deal with it. Those same front-end loaders will also be removing feet of sand from coastal roads. Don’t go sightseeing… stay in your neighborhood.

For the first 36-48 hours, please try to stay close to home, in your neighborhood. Another reason to stay close to home is the sketchy people who can sometimes surface, looters etc. Staying close to home and having contact with your neighbors is just reasonable and safer.

Phase-1 recovery is necessarily, well, scruffy…. we’re just moving and managing the mess; not trying to clean it up yet. It’ll be ok. There are going to be roofing nails everywhere, and you will likely get multiple flat tires in the weeks after the hurricane.

If you are on the road and there’s a convoy of utility trucks on the road, pull over. Treat power trucks and tanker trucks like ambulances and emergency vehicles. Pull over, give them a clear road and let them pass.

When everyone gets to work, if you see a line-man, pole-digger or crew say thanks. Just simple “thanks”. Wave at them and give them a thumbs-up. No need to get unnecessarily familiar, a simple: “thank you for your help” will suffice. You know, ordinary people skills.

Many of these smaller crews will be sleeping in cots, or in their trucks while they are working never-ending shifts. Some will be staging at evacuation shelters, likely schools and such. Once you eventually start getting power back, if you see a crew in a restaurant, same thing applies… “thanks guys”.

Same goes for the tanker truckers. The convenience stores with gas pumps are part of the priority network. Those will get power before other locales without power. Fuel outlets are a priority. Fuel is the lifeblood of recovery. Hospitals, first responders, emergency facilities, fuel outlets, then comes commercial and residential.

Pray together and be strong together. It might sound goofy to some, but don’t be bashful about being openly thankful in prayer.

It will be ok.

It might be a massive pain in the a**, but in the end, it’ll be ok.