The saying goes that in Louisiana, the coast loses about a football field of land every 100 minutes. Coastal Louisianians, especially Indigenous residents, are facing the brunt of land loss, seeing their ways of life slow-changing and having to adapt for survival. One predominantly Indigenous community living off the coast, Isle de Jean Charles, is already among one of the first climate migrants in the country. The last episode of Engulfed pieces together the impact of coastal erosion on Southeast Louisiana and how it’s threatening indigenous communities’ ways of life.

LaPlace resident Camry Rivers remembers the storms laced throughout her childhood: Katrina, Gustav, Isaac. While these storms may have caused flooding, it was not until Hurricane Ida struck in August of 2021 that the foundation of her home failed, causing her to be displaced. On this episode of Engulfed, we examine the sociological impact of hurricanes on residents and ask the existential question: Can Southeastern Louisiana’s existing infrastructure survive the test of time? 

Twelve years after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the economy and ecology of the Gulf of Mexico are still feeling its wrath. Oil spill experts Tyler Priest and Christopher Reddy examine how this monumental disaster came about and recap the effect of the spill on life in Southeastern Louisiana. 

A predominantly Black Southeastern Louisiana community’s health is reeling, first from cancer, and then from COVID. Longtime residents point to the petrochemical plants in the area for affecting their health.