Help needed to demolish flood-damaged homes

Organizers of flood-relief group The Cajun Army are asking for help to tackle the roughly 400 homes on the group’s demolition list of structures damaged by the August floods.

The Cajun Army is a coalition of volunteers that formed in August to assist flood victims.

During the past week or so, the Cajun Army has been averaging only six to seven volunteers per day, which means they can finish demolition work on maybe one home, spokeswoman Chelsea Adams said.

Volunteers don’t need any special skills to help out.

“Basically, if you can take a hammer and knock it into a wall, you can do the work,” Adams said.

Organizers are still identifying people “whose homes really haven’t even been touched,” she said.

People interested in volunteering should visit thecajunarmy.com to sign up to be a volunteer. Volunteers can also email thecajunarmy@gmail.com or visit The Cajun Army group on Facebook for more information.

A parent must be present with any volunteers who are 16-17 years old due to liability concerns, Adams said. Anyone under 16 years old isn’t permitted to volunteer with the group.

The group supplies all volunteers with respirators, Tyvek suits and all tools and equipment “they need to do the job and stay safe,” she said. Lunch is also provided to volunteers.

Most of the work the group is doing is in East Baton Rouge, Livingston and Ascension parishes, Adams said.

The Cajun Army Facebook group grew out of an effort started when Chris King of Prairieville had some employees who needed to be rescued from flood waters in Denham Springs. Brothers Nicholas Loupe and Joshua Loupe, both of Morgan City, joined King and took an 11-hour boat ride to rescue people, Nicholas Loupe said.

Organizers formed the Facebook group after that rescue trip to have a place for flood survivors to post needs and for people who want to volunteer to go help those in need, Loupe said.

The group has gotten many out-of-state volunteers to help, Adams said.

“It’s crazy how big this has gotten,” she said. “I don’t think anybody anticipated it.”

The Cajun Army group on Facebook has about 10,000 members. In almost two months, volunteers have been able to demolish about 200 homes, Adams said.

If people want to donate to the cause, they can order items off of The Cajun Army’s wish list on amazon.com. Items get shipped directly to the group’s Baton Rouge warehouse, Adams said.