Cajun Navy volunteers drive an excavator through floodwaters left behind by Hurricane Ida in LaPlace, Louisiana, in 2021.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergWeather & Science
The Cajun Navy Is Shaping Trump's Vision for US Disaster Relief
While the Trump administration rethinks federal disaster relief, Republicans have praised how Cajun Navy groups have responded to major storms.
As Rob Gaudet walked around his group’s Louisiana warehouse in June, the shelves he wants to fill with stockpiles of water and shelf-stable food were mostly empty. So were the shipping containers he maintains. Gaudet had founded his nonprofit in 2016 — originally called Cajun Relief Foundation, now known as Ground Force Humanitarian Aid — to help disaster victims. June was the beginning of hurricane season, but the group’s bank account was also nearly bare.