Louisiana: How do you prepare for your whole town to be destroyed?

Environment • May 2011 • Views: 1,658

Butte La Rose, Louisiana (CNN) — On a two-lane road that cuts through a dense forest of Louisiana cypress trees, intermingled with narrow, dark creeks, sits a small community trapped in the path of a looming disaster.

Hundreds of people packed into the Butte La Rose firehouse to learn about the flood projections from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Col. Ed Fleming delivered the dire news.

“Listen to me, listen to me, OK,” he said. “I’m telling you the depth of water from right here will be 15 feet.”

The number stunned the crowd.

Pierre Watermeyer turned to friends and said, “It’s over with, it’s over with.”

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18 comments

Killgore Trout Fri, May 13, 2011 5:42:22pm

Reine, Are you out of the danger zone?

reine.de.tout Fri, May 13, 2011 5:47:29pm

re: #1 Killgore Trout

Reine, Are you out of the danger zone?

Killgore, we are several miles from the river; places in BR that are close to the levee are getting some water from seepage, but will generally be OK (unless the levees fail, pray they don't!).

It's these communities in the spillway that are in trouble. Now, people who build in those communities know full well they are in the spillway, which was built specifically for the purpose of letting overflow into it in order to spare larger more populated areas. However - I still have a lot of sympathy for them, I don't think anyone expected things to reach this level of disaster. Also, the water in the river right now is carrying with it all the pollutants it has picked up from all along its path - so the flooding will be extra icky. And they'll start getting water tomorrow when the spillway is open; and it will be there until at least mid-June. A lot of these places are built on stilts - but this level of flooding is gonna get into a lot of homes.

jaunte Fri, May 13, 2011 6:04:42pm

Looking at Butte La Rose on Google maps in satellite view, you can see that they're right in the middle of the path the flood waters want to take. Morgan City might be in trouble too, but the town is surrounded by levees.

reine.de.tout Fri, May 13, 2011 6:38:47pm

re: #3 jaunte

Looking at Butte La Rose on Google maps in satellite view, you can see that they're right in the middle of the path the flood waters want to take. Morgan City might be in trouble too, but the town is surrounded by levees.

Looking at the "inundation map" and google earth, Morgan City looks to be at the bottom edge of the bottom green area, which is expected to get 10- 15 feet of water.

reine.de.tout Fri, May 13, 2011 6:45:30pm

Image: google_earth.jpg

Look at that image. The area that will get water is basically the dark green area that is to the west then south of where BR is located. I-10 goes right across the areas that are expected to get the most water. The roadway there is raised, so I don't think they'll have to close it, but people travelling will get an eyeful.

Dark_Falcon Fri, May 13, 2011 6:47:03pm

re: #2 reine.de.tout

Killgore, we are several miles from the river; places in BR that are close to the levee are getting some water from seepage, but will generally be OK (unless the levees fail, pray they don't!).

It's these communities in the spillway that are in trouble. Now, people who build in those communities know full well they are in the spillway, which was built specifically for the purpose of letting overflow into it in order to spare larger more populated areas. However - I still have a lot of sympathy for them, I don't think anyone expected things to reach this level of disaster. Also, the water in the river right now is carrying with it all the pollutants it has picked up from all along its path - so the flooding will be extra icky. And they'll start getting water tomorrow when the spillway is open; and it will be there until at least mid-June. A lot of these places are built on stilts - but this level of flooding is gonna get into a lot of homes.

Very sad, and it reminds us of how little we actually. are.

dragonfire1981 Fri, May 13, 2011 6:55:49pm

Man Louisiana just can't catch a break.

They get torn up by Katrina and Rita in 2005,
They get spilled on by BP last year.

And now this?

Reine, I know southerners are resourceful people but by golly It's hard to believe you keep coming back from this stuff (full disclosure: I live on the MS coast).

b_sharp Fri, May 13, 2011 7:18:13pm

Easy answer: You don't.

Difficult answer: You scramble to save every memory you can, pack them up with your clothing, hope you can find a place to live and start all over again.

reine.de.tout Fri, May 13, 2011 7:29:03pm

re: #7 dragonfire1981

Man Louisiana just can't catch a break.

They get torn up by Katrina and Rita in 2005,
They get spilled on by BP last year.

And now this?

Reine, I know southerners are resourceful people but by golly It's hard to believe you keep coming back from this stuff (full disclosure: I live on the MS coast).

Aha! Then you know how it is.

I have a story about a lady who from MS, after Katrina, whe finally got into her neighborhood to see her house.

She said on the way into the neighborhood, devastation all around her, as they approached her street, she started digging in her handbag for her house keys. And then pulled into her driveway, saw nothing standing, and wondered to herself why she thought she would need her housekeys! Force of habit . . .
She was in good humor and laughing at herself as she related this story.

justaminute Fri, May 13, 2011 7:49:10pm

re: #2 reine.de.tout

I am going to be out of the country when you guys get the worst of it but I'll be thinking of you. I'll check in when I get back, but will probably hear about it through my dad. His mother's side of the family was from Crowley, LA. Their all gone now, and I am the last one besides 3 cousins but my dad made me promise to go check his mom and dad's and grandparent's grave out every couple of years and pay for maintenance. But I love Louisiana so it's not a problem.

I know your a smart gal and you'll stay safe. Don't disappoint me! ;)

What, me worry? Fri, May 13, 2011 8:26:21pm

re: #2 reine.de.tout

Reine, it's so scary. I know what you're going through living in S. Florida. I'm always amazed, and I know you've been through this, too, how the community comes together in times of crisis. Neighbor helping neighbor. It's maybe the only bright point.

I feel so bad these folks are scrambling to find a place to go .At least they have some time to prepare and get what they can. Is the State helping?

Stay safe, Reine!

angel Graham Fri, May 13, 2011 10:15:41pm

Sending prayers and thoughts to you Reine. Also to those who are going to be affected by this. *sigh--I think Louisiana has taken enough for the next millinum or two.*

lostlakehiker Fri, May 13, 2011 10:53:58pm

This is mild. Those in the path of the flooding can get out alive, saving everything portable and valuable.

Think of Japan. 15 feet under, and five minutes warning if that. We may see 25 fatalities out of all this flooding, though with any luck it will be less. They lost 25 thousand.

What we're seeing now is government doing things right. Blowing levees where they have to be blown so the river can flood a few farms rather than a few cities. Opening spillways here and there. A choreographed, computed minimization of the damage.

Short of living in the garden of Eden, this is our lot. This is as good as it gets. We're going to get hammered from time to time.

reine.de.tout Sat, May 14, 2011 7:07:22am

re: #13 lostlakehiker

This is mild. Those in the path of the flooding can get out alive, saving everything portable and valuable.

Think of Japan. 15 feet under, and five minutes warning if that. We may see 25 fatalities out of all this flooding, though with any luck it will be less. They lost 25 thousand.

What we're seeing now is government doing things right. Blowing levees where they have to be blown so the river can flood a few farms rather than a few cities. Opening spillways here and there. A choreographed, computed minimization of the damage.

Short of living in the garden of Eden, this is our lot. This is as good as it gets. We're going to get hammered from time to time.

I have no disagreement with this at all.

I feel sad for these folks having to pack up and leave much behind that they already know will be destroyed.

On the other hand, they bought property and built homes (modest ones they usually just call "camps"), or put trailers in, in an area that isn't just prone to flooding, but has been specifically designated as an area that will be flooded when circumstances call for it. They knew what they were getting into; and they are now reacting as they should be with the water on its way.

But I will say that this particular event is bigger than what they probably anticipated happening in their lifetime. Many of these places are on piers or stilts, so they could handle 3 or 4 or 5 feet of water. This will be 15" to 20" of water. When it's over, they'll pick up the pieces and move on back.

dragonfire1981 Sat, May 14, 2011 8:50:52am

re: #9 reine.de.tout

Aha! Then you know how it is.

I have a story about a lady who from MS, after Katrina, whe finally got into her neighborhood to see her house.

She said on the way into the neighborhood, devastation all around her, as they approached her street, she started digging in her handbag for her house keys. And then pulled into her driveway, saw nothing standing, and wondered to herself why she thought she would need her housekeys! Force of habit . . .
She was in good humor and laughing at herself as she related this story.

To a point. I didn't live here during Katrina but it's amazing to see images and video and hear stories from people who did. It's too bad the National media decided to focus so heavily on New Orleans. Southern MS got it pretty bad too and yet hardly anyone knows that.

While it was a devastating storm, there was a lot of good that came out of it in the way the communities came together and people re-evaluated their lives and the Coast as a whole committed to rebuilding.

I'm still furious about the Oil Spill and those happy smiley BP ads all over TV make me sick. There's still a lot of oil and damage out there and these idiots want to act like its all gone away now.

What, me worry? Sat, May 14, 2011 9:26:19am

re: #15 dragonfire1981

There was so many awful mistakes that were made during Katrina, both before and after the storm, that cost a lot of lives. I live in hurricane country so I'm familiar with the drill. Actually, we were out of electric with Katrina for 5 days and again in Wilma for 15 days, but we didn't have near the property damage or loss of life because we didn't have that kind of flooding.

After Hurricane Andrew, we learned a great deal more about how to prepare and stay safe. Those should have been national lessons, not lessons just for Florida and many of those precautions were not taken for the people in the gulf. Andrew was in 1992 so there was plenty of time to establish safe procedures.

I agree with lostlakehiker and Reine above, in that the state is doing the right thing to keep people as safe as possible. As to living in areas prone to natural disasters, there's a lot of that around the country, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, but with the right building codes and precautions, you can minimize the damage. I suspect the building codes will change after this event.

reine.de.tout Sat, May 14, 2011 9:51:57am

re: #15 dragonfire1981

To a point. I didn't live here during Katrina but it's amazing to see images and video and hear stories from people who did. It's too bad the National media decided to focus so heavily on New Orleans. Southern MS got it pretty bad too and yet hardly anyone knows that.

While it was a devastating storm, there was a lot of good that came out of it in the way the communities came together and people re-evaluated their lives and the Coast as a whole committed to rebuilding.

I'm still furious about the Oil Spill and those happy smiley BP ads all over TV make me sick. There's still a lot of oil and damage out there and these idiots want to act like its all gone away now.

Yes, the media focused so much on NOLA, they missed the bigger Katrina picture, IMO. Southern MS was just as bad off as NOLA. Someone here once tried to tell me that the story was all about NOLA because of people who were obviously neglected for the sole reason they were brown and black. That person obviously had no clue whatsoever that the racial demographics of MS are very similar to that of La.

BP - the company can go under, as far as I'm concerned, their decisions were criminally negligent leading to that spill. Those ads haven't run here all that much. There would have been a lot of TV sets covered with rotten tomatoes if they had, I think!

_RememberTonyC Sat, May 14, 2011 10:18:31am

Prayers to all who are affected by this awful situation. I used to be a climate change skeptic, but with all the mayhem that Mother Nature has been unleashing, I believe there is a connection. I hope Reine and all those near her will be safe and take care of each other.

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