2015 Louisiana floods

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2015 Louisiana floods
Flood Response.jpg
Louisiana National Guards members with the 844th Engineer Company, 527th Engineer Battalion, construct a sandbag barrier wall around Dupree #23 Pump Station in Pineville, La
Location Caddo Parish, Bossier Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish, and the cities of Coushatta, Alexandria, and Shreveport

The 2015 Louisiana flood took place in the United States for several weeks in June 2015. [1] The areas in Louisiana affected by the Red River flood included Caddo Parish, Bossier Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish, and the cities of Coushatta, Alexandria, and Shreveport. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The flood caused numerous road closures throughout Shreveport. [7] Response teams such as the Louisiana National Guard were deployed in order to fill and place sandbags at residences that were under flood warning. [8]

The Red River reached its highest level in over 70 years, cresting in most of the affected areas at around 6–9 feet over the flood levels. [1] [9] At 4 PM on June 9, the river reached its maximum height of 37.14 feet. [10]

The most recent US Army Corps of Engineers study to characterize the flood patterns of the Red River was released in 1990, when the river last flooded. There are no current plans for another study. [11]

The Red River. Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport Casinos on Red River.jpg
The Red River. Shreveport, Louisiana

Although many advances have been made towards flood protection in Louisiana, flooding is inevitable; the changing course of the river(s) will continue no matter how high the levees are built. [12] The Mississippi River flood history shows that the river has a pattern of major flooding once every decade or so.

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References

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  2. "Floods sweep northwest Louisiana, damaging hundreds of structures | Reuters". reuters.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  3. "GOHSEP Teams to Begin Damage Assessments in Northwest Louisiana". shreveporttimes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  4. "Jindal travels to northwest Louisiana to view flooding | NOLA.com". nola.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  5. "With homes underwater in Louisiana, recovery teams head out - Washington Times". washingtontimes.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  6. "With homes underwater near Red River in rural Louisiana, state sends recovery teams out | Fox News". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  7. Jones, Derick (2015-06-11). "Shreveport Battles the Ravages of the Mighty Red". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  8. "Flooding in Louisiana sparks response from recovery teams - CBS News". cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  9. "Red River flooding: Highest level in 70 years News - The Weather Network". theweathernetwork.com. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
  10. Davies, Richard. "Red River Floods in Louisiana - River at Highest Levels for 70 Years - FloodList". floodlist.org. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  11. Gillis, Elsa. "Why were crest predictions for the 2015 flood so off?". ktbs.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  12. Tomaszkiewicz, Marlene Ann (December 2003). Staying Afloat: A Risk Analysis of Flooding in South Louisiana (MS thesis). Louisiana State University. doi: 10.31390/gradschool_theses.3560 . Retrieved 5 April 2023.