Philip Anselmo Had Hurricane Ida Floods Surrounding His Home
Pantera icon Philip Anselmo has shared a photo of the floodwaters from Hurricane Ida as they surrounded his home in Louisiana.
The image is the first public communication from the New Orleans-based rocker since his solo band canceled their concerts this past weekend in the aftermath of the destructive storm that made landfall on Aug. 29, leaving over a million people without power in the ensuing days.
But giving fans little in the way of a note, the only caption on Anselmo's photo says, "September 2nd 2021 — aftermath of hurricane Ida."
It shows water entirely covering the ground outside of the musician's house as someone stands on a second-story deck surveying the scene. Anselmo lives just outside of New Orleans proper in an area known as Northshore, as seen in an old interview with Fuse.
Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals, the current vehicle of the Pantera singer, Down vocalist and onetime Superjoint frontman, canceled a pair of U.S. concerts this month due to the effects of the storm, including their Sept. 5 show at Rocklahoma.
A separate gig in Dallas at the Gas Monkey Bar and Grill, earmarked as a pre-fest warm-up show on Sept. 3, has been rescheduled to Nov. 13.
Anselmo's camp revealed the cancellations in a Sept. 2 update that said, "Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and circumstances beyond their control, Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals have regrettably been forced to cancel their performance at the Gas Monkey in Dallas, Texas on Friday, September 3rd as well as their appearance at this year's edition of Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma on Sunday, September 5th. The Gas Monkey/Dallas show will now be on November 13th, 2021. The band thanks their fans for understanding and looks forward to returning to the stage."
Ida hit Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Katrina, as CBS News reported. New Orleans' levees, which were badly damaged during Katrina and flooded the city, were rebuilt to withstand a 100-year-storm, according to The New York Times. They were put to the test after Ida grew to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 MPH.
As pointed out by Blabbermouth, Anselmo was displaced by Katrina in 2005, explaining in a subsequent interview that he "was stuck in a hotel room for two and a half weeks in Houston, Texas, with my Rottweiler, my other dog and this cat I've had since 1992 or something. I wasn't even sure he was going to make it because of the trauma, but he's a tough bastard."
Ida was the second most damaging hurricane to strike Louisiana on record. At least 43 are dead from flooding across four states, per NYT. New Orleans-based rockers Cane Hill were also affected by the storm. This year's Bonnaroo was canceled because of the flooding.