[Episcopal News Service] Seven years after the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana were mostly thankful as they began to assess the impact of Hurricane Isaac while the remnants of the storm, as it moved north, continued to drench parts of the state and neighboring Mississippi. 

The worst reports from the diocese were of a tree falling onto a rectory and a church and church school taking in a couple of inches of water. Other reports mostly concerned power outages, shingles off roofs, minor water damage and glass breakage from high winds.

Some parishioners' homes had several inches of floodwater and "the usual debris" associated with heavy storms, according to diocesan clergy who reported their assessments on an Aug. 30 conference call.

Although the recently fortified levees that protect New Orleans stood firm during Isaac's pummeling, beyond the city hundreds of homes were underwater. At one point, half of the state was without power. Of the 60,000 New Orleanians who evacuated, several thousand are staying at shelters.

According to the Associated Press, Isaac dumped as much as 16 inches in some areas, and about 500 people had to be rescued by boat or high-water vehicles. At least five storm-related deaths have been reported.

Moderating the Louisiana diocesan clergy conference call, the Rev. Canon Mark Stevenson, canon to the ordinary, said that an adjuster for church insurance was already in the New Orleans area to help facilitate damage claims.

As the storm brought chilling reminders of the disastrous consequences of Hurricane Katrina exactly seven years ago, most of the clergy were relieved by the extent of Isaac's impact throughout the diocese.

Diocese of Louisiana Bishop Morris Thompson, along with 60,000 others, evacuated New Orleans before Isaac made landfall. He thanked his clergy "for paying attention to your folks. It is nice to be connected; thanks for your work."

Thompson hopes to return to New Orleans on Sunday. The diocesan offices in New Orleans will be closed until Tuesday.

The Diocese of Louisiana has published an Isaac webpage that will be updated as new information becomes available.

In the coming days, Episcopal Relief & Development will be standing ready to assist as diocesan teams are able to assess the situation.

Episcopal Relief & Development has longstanding partnerships with the dioceses of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Central Gulf Coast that began with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts in 2005. "For the past two years, all three dioceses have received disaster preparedness training and have continued to hone and exercise response strategies, including communications plans," the agency said in a recent release. "Because of this preparation, the dioceses are positioned to effectively assess and respond to needs when weather conditions allow."

Donations for hurricane relief can be made via Episcopal Relief & Development's website here.

Read The Full Article Here (with parish updates) 

- Matthew Davies is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service. The Rev. Pat McCaughan is a correspondent for the Episcopal News Service. She is based in Los Angeles.