We recently reported on a groundbreaking ceremony attended by the Governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards. As we wrote at the time, officials said the levee would “will protect 60,000 residents of St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James Parishes.”

The project was first proposed 50 years ago, but let’s take a look at how the area is faring today.

As reported by Christina Watkins, news anchor at WDSU, officials in St. Charles Parish say they will be without power in the parish for at least one month. As Watkins points out, 21,201 people in the parish are without power currently.

In St. James Parish, “the majority of roadways in St. James Parish are impassible with dangerous lines or trees down, according to local media. As of Tuesday morning, 7,929 “customers” were without power.

In St. John the Baptist Parish, locals are also expected to be without power for at least one month according to WWLTV, with 18,337 currently without power. As the channel notes, “Ida caused serious damage across the region, flooding homes and toppling power lines and trees.”

LaPlace in St. John the Baptist appears to have been hit the hardest, with social media flooded with images of the floods.

Hurricane tracker Mark Sudduth placed a camera 10 feet above the ground prior to the storm. Footage from the camera shows waves at eye level.

According to the Associated Press, rescuers in LaPlace “saved people from flooded homes in a near-constant operation. While many rescues have occurred, many are still trapped, hiding in attics.

The catastrophic damage wrought by Hurricane Ida underscores the urgent need for better infrastructure.