Plaquemines homeowner says her home was bulldozed before she could even see it

Plaquemines Parish President Benny Rousselle has allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to take over land for levee work, but one homeowner said the bulldozers got to her home long before she could.

It was a challenge for Pamela Berthelot to find anything left of her three-bedroom home in Lower Plaquemines. Berthelot said she felt robbed of the chance to find more, because she said bulldozers tore down her house without her permission, before she could even see it.

“When we got here, there was nothing here, it was just this: empty,” said Berthelot.

Bertholet said satellite photos showed her home survived the storm, in spite of being pushed off its foundation and onto the shoulder of her street. Although it was badly damaged, she thought she could have saved something when she returned in mid-September.