Robert Owens was feeling defeated and helpless Sunday as he waited in Louisianaās capital city for landfall by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the U.S.
The 27-year-old had spent anxious days watching long lines of cars evacuating from Baton Rouge, bound for safer locations out of state as Hurricane Ida approached. He had hoped he and his wife, his mother-in-law, roommate and four pets would be among them. But leaving would have required money for gas and a hotel room ā something they didnāt have.
Out of desperation, Owens went to ACE Cash Express on Saturday and submitted documents for a payday loan. He was denied, told he didnāt have enough credit history.
By Sunday, it was clear they would be riding out the storm at home in his familyās duplex apartment.
Read: 1st death from Hurricane Ida; power out across New Orleans
āOur bank account is empty ā we canāt afford to leave,ā he said.
Owens said the majority of people in his low-income neighborhood are in the same predicament. They want to leave to protect families, but have no choice but to stay.
āA lot of us here in my neighborhood have to just hunker down and wait, not knowing how bad itās going to get. Itās a terrifying feeling,ā he said.
āThere people who have funds to lean on are able to get out of here, but thereās a big chunk of people that are lower-income that donāt have a savings account to fall on,ā he continued. āWeāre left behind.ā
By Sunday night at 9 p.m., Owens said his family and all others in his neighborhood had lost power. The sky was lighting up green from transformers blowing up all around them, he said. Several trees had collapsed on neighborās properties, but it was too dark to see the full extent of the damage. Owens said they were trying to use a flashlight to survey the street, but were wary of jeopardizing their safety.
Read: Powerful Hurricane Ida closing in on Louisiana landfall
āNever in my life have I encountered something this major,ā he said as giant gusts rattled his homeās windows.
He said there were a few times when it sounded like the roof of his duplex might come off. He said his wife was packing a bag of clothes and essentials, just in case.
āWeāll shelter in the car if we lose the house,ā he said. The family all share his wifeās Toyota Avalon, a vehicle ānot nearly big enoughā to shelter four people, three dogs and a cat.
Earlier in the day, Owens said he was hurriedly placing towels under leaking windows in his duplex and charging electronics. He tried to go to Dollar General and Dollar Tree to pick up food, but they were closed. His family has lights glued around the walls of the house. They planned to hide in the laundry room or the kitchen when the storm hits -- places without windows.
āThereās a general feeling of fear in not knowing whatās going to be the aftermath of this,ā he said. āThatās the most concerning thing. Like, what are we going to do if it gets really bad? Will we still be alive? Is a tree going fall on top of us?ā
Read: Tropical Storm Ida a hurricane menace to New Orleans
Owens said his mother-in-law is on disability. His roommates both work for Apple iOS tech support. His wife works scheduling blood donations. All of them rely on the internet to work from home, and if it goes out, they wonāt be able to bring in any money.
āWe might be without work, and rent, power, water, all of those bills will still be needing to get paid,ā he said. āWe are a little bit concerned about losing our utilities or even our house ā if itās still standing ā because weāre not going to have the money for any other bills.ā
He said itās hard to feel so vulnerable, like his family is getting left behind.
āThe fact that we are not middle class or above, it just kind of keeps coming back to bite us over and over again, in so many different directions and ways ā a simple pay-day advance being one of them,ā he said. āItās like weāre having to pay for being poor, even though weāre trying to not be poor.ā