Hurricane Laura evacuees now facing threats of eviction

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly 200 families forced hundreds of miles from their homes when Hurricane Laura struck southwest Louisiana are now facing threats of eviction, an attorney said Saturday.

Bill Quigley, an attorney at Loyola University’s College of Law, said 191 people who live at Wilshire Apartment Homes in Lake Charles received letters from their landlord saying they must retrieve their belongings from their homes by Monday or their property will be put on the street. Documents residents received, and provided to The Associated Press, also show their leases have been terminated as of Sept. 3, Quigley said.

“These documents and the actions described in them clearly violate numerous laws, and I ask you to immediately stop these illegal actions,” Quigley said in a cease-and-desist demand letter sent to the complex's management. “These actions by your corporation are particularly cruel when they target people who have been displaced through no fault of their own due to the hurricane and during a time when people are especially vulnerable from the effects of displacement due to the COVID-19 crisis.”

The documents provided to tenants said their lease agreements were being terminated effective immediately “due to the natural disaster of Hurricane Laura.” A telephone call and text message to a contact for the apartment complex’s management was not immediately returned Saturday.

Hurricane Laura made landfall Aug. 27 near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. It raked coastal communities as well as the city of Lake Charles, where buildings were demolished and trees feel down. At least 28 deaths have been attributed to the storm.

Many of the residents are being sheltered in hotels in the New Orleans area. Tyneesha Jackson, 22, is one of them. In an interview with The Associatad Press, she said she...