Photographer captures Hurricane Laura’s lasting affect in new Lake Charles exhibit

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – An area photographer who documented Hurricane Laura’s destruction and aftermath has opened a brand new exhibit showcasing his work on the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.

Chad Moreno mentioned his pictures started again in 2019, when he simply did it for enjoyable. It got here in useful only a yr later, when he was requested to assist household and associates who couldn’t return to the world instantly after the 2020 hurricane.

“I was their eyes here because they weren’t back yet. They couldn’t come back yet for whatever reason. They’re like, ‘Do I have damage on my house?’ I’m like, ‘I’ll go drive by and take some pictures then send you some pictures,’” Moreno mentioned.

The once-amateur photographer determined to share his rising assortment on-line, only a week after beginning.

“After about a week or so, I was like, ‘I need to post these.’ I had a group of about 400 or 500 photos I threw up online. They just took off because that was kind of the first real thing that came out of here that was a big photo set,” Moreno mentioned.

Moreno’s documentation expanded to incorporate companies, town, and the demolition of the Capital One Tower, which had been a outstanding function of the Lake Charles skyline.

“How many towns around the country lose a major monument building like that? It’s very rare,” Moreno mentioned.

The exhibit serves as each a commemoration of the tragedy and a reminder of the neighborhood’s expertise with hurricanes.

“It’s just a lot to take in. When you go through it, I tell people you kind of become numb. We shouldn’t be numb to hurricane and storm damage, but in a way, we are. We shouldn’t know how to deal with that the way that we do, but we do,” Moreno mentioned.

Moreno hopes the gallery will assist handle that numbness whereas preserving what has been misplaced to historical past and documenting town’s progress and future.

The exhibit runs by means of January 3 on the Imperial Calcasieu Museum.

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