Local musician David Jones joined a crew of volunteer firefighters on their boat to rescue these families at the corner of Arlington Avenue and Shelby Drive. One family couldn’t swim, and the elderly woman couldn’t walk on her own so rescuers had to pick her up and hoist her into the boat. There was 3.5 feet of water at minimum in these homes with a very strong current, Jones says. Photo by David Jones.
After the violence, unrest, and grief of July, we had barely caught our breath when torrential rain and cresting rivers rushed into our city and surrounding areas in August. Thousands of homes lost, thousands of families displaced, and a few turbulent days later, us Red Stick folks had once again shown our true colors with countless rescues of neighbors by boat and millions of dollars of donations.
It’s a long voyage ahead of us to rebuilding the city and the region, but for now, let’s celebrate who we are and how much we have survived. We’re the pirogue-pushing, jambalaya-dishing, river-wading, stick-together-to-the-end people of Louisiana. Let’s keep doing good.
90
Percentage of homes flooded in Denham Springs
46.2
Cresting height in feet of the Amite River at Denham Springs on Aug. 14. The flood of 1983, previously Baton Rouge’s most severe flood in recent memory, only raised the Amite to 41.5 feet.
30,000
Estimated number of residents rescued from floodwaters. At press time in mid-August, 12,000 evacuees were estimated to be living in shelters around southern Louisiana.
34.22
Cresting height in feet of the Comite River at Joor Road on Aug. 14, which pushed water into Baton Rouge, Central and surrounding areas. This number tops the previous record for the highest crest in history by more than three feet.
4 trillion
Gallons of water that fell on southern Louisiana Aug. 12-14. That’s equal to more than 6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Matt Sitkowski of The Weather Channel.
A 2,000-person production
In the days following the flood, Celtic Studios’ expansive stages had transformed into a small village for more than 2,000 displaced residents seeking refuge.
Hundreds of cots filled each room, with stations for water, snacks and juice, and a makeshift triage station. Outside a stage designated for pets, evacuees took their dogs for jogs through the parking lot, and masses of people lined up for a hot dinner served out of a building where scenes for Battleship were shot. Volunteers laughed at the thought that the building in which they were sorting baby formula is where the Twilight honeymoon scene was filmed.
In two of the buildings, mountains of donated supplies, food, clothing and toys were arranged into “stores” with winding aisles where residents could pick up what they needed. They brought what they could carry back to their cots, where families had created their own living spaces with blankets and stuffed animals and babies napping in Pack ’N Plays. Around it all, American Red Cross volunteers offered support and kind words, trying to make the stay a little more bearable for people who had lost everything.
Pull up a chair for dinner with one of these groups, and you’d find discouraged and heartbroken people breaking bread, but you’d also find a glimmer of happiness and hope. After all, whether it’s around the table at home or in a movie studio turned disaster shelter, in Louisiana, nothing beats hot food and good company.
Wear your support
In the aftermath of the Louisiana floods, several indie design companies have launched new products with proceeds benefiting relief efforts. Rock one (or all) of these looks for a great cause.
