Gabe Posted September 13, 2008 Report Posted September 13, 2008 Coop wanted me to post this since he has troubles getting online. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up BC student athlete discusses town's devastation Gabriel Pruett The Orange Leader BRIDGE CITY — BRIDGE CITY – The images have become unbelievable and the stories are horrific. What a lot of Bridge City and Orange residents watched happened to New Orleans in 2005, is now a reality in Orange County. Hurricane Ike did more than just damage homes and businesses early Saturday, it also destroying lives. Bridge City junior Matt Hicks reporter his mother’s home, in the Dugas Addition, has been lost to flood waters and his story is the same as others in the community. Orange Leader photographer/reporter Tommy Mann Jr. sent a text saying, “Downtown Orange is an ocean and Bridge City is Atlantis,†at 3:45 p.m. Saturday. Hicks, who evacuated to Slidell, La., learned his mother’s house was in danger from a local television station and then was informed his father’s home could be in the same situation from a report on the Internet. “I was more in shock than anything,†Hicks, who could only sleep 30 minutes early Saturday morning, said. “We knew it was going to happen and you can think about how you will react, but when it actually happens all of that goes out the window. Just realizing that everything that has always been there is now ruined and/or gone takes a toll on you.†There are things to be thankful for though and that is the well-being of family and friends. “That's the only thing I have going for me,†Hicks added. “Everything else is just materials, they can be replaced. Family and friends can't. As long as they are safe, I know everything is eventually going to be alright.†One of Hicks’ teammates on the Cardinals baseball team, Anthony Cessac, is very fortunate to be alive after Ike forced him and his family to their roof near the Dishon Plantation. Cessac was updating Hicks through the whole storm right before he had to go into the attic. “The last things he said before going up were, ‘You can't see the Dishon Plantation. Tt's completely underwater’†Hicks reported. “Then thirty minutes later (he said) ‘It looks like the Gulf of Mexico is in my frontyard’, and 15 minutes later ‘It's coming through my door, we are going into the attic.’†Cessac was said to be in his attic and then on his roof from 3:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The group is now safe and headed for safety in Mississippi. Cessac’s full story will be told once he has a full charge on his cell phone and is in a safe location. Pictures of the Bridge City area show nothing but water and tons of it. Texas Ave. is nothing but water and it has been reported many homes and business have feet of water inside. Orange has also been reported to have serious flooding. Water was white-capping on MacArthur Drive. Those who want to report flooding and Hurricane Ike stories can contact this reporter at [email protected] . Please leave your name and location.
HBroussard Posted September 13, 2008 Report Posted September 13, 2008 matt's sisters house is flooded too...
Gabe Posted September 13, 2008 Author Report Posted September 13, 2008 Didnt she just get married as well, like right at the beginning of summer?
HBroussard Posted September 13, 2008 Report Posted September 13, 2008 yes sir in May...they have been in the house 3wks shy of a year.
AJ25 Posted September 14, 2008 Report Posted September 14, 2008 known both hicks and anthony for a while. its terrible that this had to happen to anyone, but especially them. matts right though, family and friends will pull everyone through.
Gabe Posted September 14, 2008 Author Report Posted September 14, 2008 Talked with Anthony a bit ago.... This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up BC senior one of hundreds stranded by Ike Gabriel Pruett The Orange Leader BRIDGE CITY — Bridge City senior Anthony Cessac knows all about the flood waters in Bridge City. He does not need the television or press releases to remind him just how hard this city in Orange County got hit by Hurricane Ike. Cessac spent hours inside his attic in his house off Idlewood Street, across from Dishon Addition, in Bridge City. His family stayed through Hurricane Rita in 2005 and never dreamed Ike would be much worse. Hurricane Ike started to come in early Saturday afternoon and evening while Cessac’s mind kept thinking the storm would not pack a punch like forecasters had predicted. Then the clocked turned about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning and the worse started. “It started to feel like the wind would take the house away,†Cessac said. “At 1:30 a.m. the water was about ankle deep in our garage. By 2 a.m. we had to go in our attic and soon after the water was over the doorknob. We grabbed our dogs, a Bible and phones. Things didn’t get too much better in the attic.†Cessac and others spent hours inside the attic while friends and family called to check on the stranded individuals. He could hear items slapping into the garage door and was not sure what the items were or what it would mean to him and his family. When Cessac and others could finally come down out of the attic, they put the dogs in Christmas lights boxes to float the pets in the flood waters. “When we opened the door of the house, water spilled out,†Cessac said. “The fridge even came out. All our furniture was just floating around in our house. Waves about three-feet high were slapping against my house. Dishon Addition looked like Sabine Lake. We couldn’t even really see my dad’s Explorer outside.†Surprises were always right around the corner for Cessac after the stranded were rescued by the United States Coast Guard. “I was in awe and was speechless,†Cessac added. “It took us about two hours to get to Texas Ave. in the back of a big truck. Other people were getting off their roofs and had to swim to the rescue truck. “I never thought this would ever happen. It was a bad choice to stay. When we got on the Cow Bayou Bridge and looked back, I saw oil everywhere. You could see that rainbow colors it makes. I looked at Waterwood and it was flooded everywhere. I am just real happy everyone is safe. Everything Bridge City lost can be replaced. It is just going to take a lot of time.†Cessac and his family were finally able to evacuate to north Texas.
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