![]() The 21 Louisiana parishes that were designated as federal disaster areas by FEMA in the aftermath of the floods. | |
Date | August 12, 2016 –August 22, 2016 [1] |
---|---|
Location | Most of southern Louisiana, United States |
Deaths | 13 |
Property damage | $10–15 billion [2] |
In August 2016, prolonged rainfall from an unpredictable storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state of Louisiana, United States; thousands of houses and businesses were submerged. Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disaster a "historic, unprecedented flooding event" and declared a state of emergency. Many rivers and waterways, particularly the Amite and Comite rivers, reached record levels, and rainfall exceeded 20 inches (510 mm) in multiple parishes.
Because numerous homeowners who were affected were without flood insurance, the federal government provided disaster aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). [3] The flood was called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. [4] At least 13 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding. [5]
Early on August 11, a mesoscale convective system flared up in southern Louisiana around a weak area of low pressure that was situated next to an outflow boundary. It remained nearly stationary, and as a result, torrential downpours occurred in the areas surrounding Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Rainfall rates of up to 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) an hour were reported in the most deluged areas where totals exceeded nearly 2 feet (61 cm) in some areas as a result of the system remaining stationary. [6] Accumulations peaked at 31.39 inches (797 mm) in Watson, just northeast of Baton Rouge. [7]
The Washington Post noted that the "no-name storm" dumped three times as much rain on Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina. It dropped the equivalent of 7.1 trillion gallons of water or enough to fill Lake Pontchartrain about four times. Hurricane Katrina, by comparison, dumped about 2.3 trillion gallons of rainwater in the state (though more in other states). The flooding rains also dumped more water than had Hurricane Isaac. According to the National Weather Service Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center, the amount of rainfall in the hardest-hit locations had a less than 0.1 percent chance of happening or was a (less than) 1-in-1,000-year event. [8]
Because the rain was not associated with a named storm, there was less warning to the public for emergency preparations. [3]
A rapid attribution study, published within one month after the event, [9] indicates an anthropogenic climate warming role in the increased probability of the return time of a similar extreme event happening in the future. A follow-on peer-reviewed paper [10] indicates that the catastrophic flood in Louisiana was a result of intense precipitation produced by a slow-moving, tropical, low-pressure system interacting with an eastward-traveling baroclinic trough to the north. While tropical-midlatitude interactions of this nature are rare, they are not unprecedented.
Analyses point towards the tendency for more and perhaps stronger upper-level troughs propagating out of the western U.S. in summer; these have an increasing potential to cross paths with low-pressure systems that form around the Gulf Coast. Combined with the projected increase in precipitable water, resulting precipitation magnitude would increase. Large-ensemble modeling indicates that the prospect of future tropical-midlatitude interactions is a scenario that Louisiana will face in the future. Regional simulations suggest that the climate warming since 1985 may have increased the event precipitation (August 11–14, 2016) on the order of 20%. [10]
Rainfall like this and the emergency help needed after the flooding subsides are straining the federal system for aid to states. Some analysts wonder if this is the new normal for storms and floods. [3]
Flooding began in earnest on August 12. On August 13, a flash flood emergency was issued for areas along the Amite and Comite rivers. [11] By August 15, more than ten rivers (Amite, Vermilion, Calcasieu, Comite, Mermentau, Pearl, Tangipahoa, Tchefuncte, Tickfaw, and Bogue Chitto) and many more had reached a moderate, major, or record flood stage. Eight rivers reached record levels, including the Amite and Comite rivers. [12]
The Amite River crested at nearly 5 ft (1.5 m) above the previous record in Denham Springs. [13] Nearly one-third of all homes—approximately 15,000 structures—in Ascension Parish were flooded after a levee along the Amite River was overtopped. [14] Water levels began to slowly recede by August 15, though large swaths of land remained submerged. [15] Livingston Parish was one of the hardest hit areas; an official estimated that 75 percent of the homes in the parish were a "total loss". [16] It was thought over 146,000 homes were damaged in Louisiana. [17] [18] This mass flooding also damaged thousands of businesses. [19] [20]
Thirteen people have been confirmed dead as a consequence of the flooding. [21] An elderly woman in Livingston Parish was confirmed dead by parish officials. A man's body was found Wednesday on Whitehall Avenue in Denham Springs. Officials said they found a man in his 50s in the South Point subdivision off of Walker South. They added he had no obvious signs of trauma, and the area he was found in had five-feet of water in it at one point. Of the other deaths, five people have died in East Baton Rouge Parish, three in Tangipahoa Parish, two in St. Helena Parish, two in Livingston Parish and one in Rapides Parish from the storms and their aftermath. [22]
The widespread flooding stranded tens of thousands of people in their homes and vehicles. At least 30,000 people were rescued by local law enforcement, firefighters, the Louisiana National Guard, the Coast Guard and fellow residents, from submerged vehicles and flooded homes. [23] Many boat-owning residents of Louisiana and Mississippi, together with other volunteers, formed an informal rescue service known as the Cajun Navy and navigated through flooded areas to answer calls for help that they received via social media. They rescued as many as a thousand people and pets and distributed emergency supplies. [24] [25] [26] [27] A group of 70 volunteers from St. Bernard Parish conducted hundreds of boat rescues in East Baton Rouge Parish. [15] By August 15, approximately 11,000 people sought refuge in 70 shelters. [28] Flash flooding swamped a 7-mile (11 km) section of Interstate 12 between Tangipahoa Parish and Baton Rouge, stranding 125 vehicles. At one point, an approximately 62-mile stretch was closed because of flooding concerns. State police and the National Guard used high-water vehicles to rescue trapped motorists, but many remained stuck for over 24 hours. [11] A cellular network outage complicated rescues over the affected area. [28] On August 12, a state of emergency was activated for the whole of Louisiana. [29]
With an estimated 146,000 [30] homes damaged in the flooding thousands of Louisianans were forced into shelters, with more than 11,000 in state-operated shelters. [31] This prompted an estimated 1,500 American Red Cross volunteers to travel to Louisiana. Other groups such as Louisiana State University, the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Celebration Church, Grace Church of Central, and the Church of Scientology also sent aid. [32] There were media reports of one man who cooked 108 pounds (49 kg) of brisket for displaced people. [31] The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals attempted to rescue stray pets, and the Second Harvest Food Bank and the United Way of Southeast Louisiana sent supplies and food. [33] More than 109,398 individuals and households registered for FEMA assistance, and FEMA approved $132 million for assistance. [34] [35] Singer Beyoncé, along with sister Solange and Kelly Rowland, held an event that raised more $4 million for those affected by the floods in Baton Rouge. In addition, singer Taylor Swift donated $1 million to Louisiana's relief fund. [36] Lady Gaga donated an unspecified amount of money. [37] On August 13, the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was activated by the USGS, allowing for the humanitarian redeployment of satellite assets by the international community. [38] AT&T donated $100,000 to be split between the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and DonorsChoose.org for flood relief. [39] Randy Jackson and Harry Connick Jr. were scheduled to host a benefit concert at the Baton Rouge River Center Theatre on September 5, featuring over a dozen artists, and all proceeds went to the American Red Cross Louisiana Flood Relief fund. [40] On the "Ellen" show Friday, September 9, host Ellen DeGeneres announced that she and Britney Spears would each donate $125,000 to help victims of the Louisiana Flood of 2016. Both celebrities are from Louisiana. Spears gave $125,000 to the Louisiana Red Cross to buy a new emergency response vehicle. DeGeneres received a letter from Betsey Baldwin, a P.E. teacher at Galvez Middle School in Ascension parish, which was inundated with two feet of water. The school has 620 students, who after the floods have been forced to study at another, nearby school. "I thought of one person that would help me, and it was you," Baldwin said. The company Shutterfly, at the request of DeGeneres, donated $125,000 to help Galvez Middle School recover. [41]
During the peak of the floods, around 265,000 children have been out of school, nearly 30% of the school-aged population in the state of Louisiana. [42] There were reports that 6 schools were heavily flooded in East Baton Rouge Parish with another 15 in Livingston Parish. [43] [44]
Livingston Parish's Superintendent, Rick Wentzel, believes that their school system is in a similar position to the Northshore following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he held a meeting with the school district to discuss possible options. [45] Livingston Parish conducted a teacher survey August 23–24, and a parent survey August 25 to assess how those are affected, and on Friday, August 26, 2016, Superintendent Rick Wentzel announced that Livingston Parish Public Schools will be resuming class on September 12, 2016. Wentzel, who was affected by the flooding himself, said he was "very pleased" that all schools will be resuming together. The late restart date is because LPPS received the most extensive damage with eight of the 15 flooded schools having "extensive damage." Wentzel said that each school will have a welcome back event for parents and students before returning on September 12, 27 school days following the August 4 start date. Wentzel said that the restart will have some unfortunate "side effects" as some schools will be temporarily platooned. The platooned schools were Denham Springs High School at Live Oak High School, Denham Springs Freshman High at Live Oak Middle School, Southside Junior High at Juban Parc High School, and Springfield High School at Springfield Middle School. [46] All host schools were in session from 6:30 am until 11:40 am and all platooned schools were in session from 12:25 pm until 5:37 pm. The two elementary schools were in class alongside their relocated school. Denham Springs Elementary was split among Eastside Elementary (Grades: PreK, K, 1, 2) and Freshwater Elementary (Grades: 3, 4, 5) while Southside Elementary was split among Lewis Vincent Elementary (Grades: PreK, K, 1) and Juban Parc Elementary (Grades: 2, 3, 4, 5). This announcement also came with Superintendent Wentzel saying ALL students will receive free lunch until September 30. [47] Following a school board meeting on Thursday, September 9, Assistant Superintendent Stephen Parill announced the "known and confident updates" for the 2016 Academic Calendar. Only four changes were made to the calendar that include: changing Thursday, September 15 from a half-day to a whole day, removing the parish fair holiday on Friday, October 7 (the fair was cancelled due to the flooding), removing a parent-teacher conference day on Thursday, October 20, and making Wednesday, November 16 a whole day instead of a half-day. The board also voted to add class time to the day. Parill said they are still waiting on their appeal to Louisiana BESE waiving the required minutes of class, and any further changes will be made after BESE's ruling. [48]
For the entire state, superintendent John White said that at least 22 schools had heavy damage and will need time to recover. [49] There were also many school closures due to flooding in the Lafayette area as well. [50]
Many teachers' homes flooded, with 4,000 staff members' homes in Baker sustaining damage and another 2,000 in East Baton Rouge Parish. [51] East Baton Rouge Parish schools announced they won't open back up until September 6, 25 days after school was originally canceled for the floods on August 12, the third day of school. [52]
Transportation was a challenge for many districts across the state, as many kids were displaced from their homes and many school buses were damaged from flood water. [51]
The Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), located in St. Gabriel and the sole Louisiana state prison for women, had 985 prisoners at the time of the flooding. [53] The prison experienced flooding ranging from 8 inches (200 mm) to 3 feet (0.91 m). [54] LCIW, the only state-operated prison to receive flooding during the incident, temporarily closed. [53] It was the first time in state history that the whole population of a particular prison was evacuated to other facilities. [55] As of 2017 [update] the prisoners were still housed in other prisons. [56] Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, next to LCIW, was not evacuated. [57]
Damages were anticipated to reach $10–15 billion, with this storm likely ranking as the seventh most expensive of natural disasters in the US since 1978. [2]
Because many of the areas that flooded were not in "high flood risk areas," the majority of homeowners affected by the flood did not have flood insurance. Across Louisiana, about 21% of all structures have coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program. Despite this, in many parishes that percentage is much lower. In St. Helena Parish, which was among the hardest hit parishes by the floods, less than 1% of all homeowners had flood insurance. [58] [59]
Because of the large number of homeowners without flood insurance that were affected, the federal government is providing disaster aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). [3] The flood has been called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. [4]
FEMA, which has stepped in to help homeowners without flood insurance, has declared these 20 parishes as federal disaster areas: Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, and West Feliciana. [60] Homeowners with damage from the floods in those parishes are eligible for up to $33,000 in federal disaster aid and so far around 102,000 people have applied for help. [61] [62] [63] For business continuity and community rebuilding, private mobile flood recovery centers have also been made available, including a 10-piece modular building complex used in Baton Rouge by FEMA as a portable school for children of displaced families who moved north from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. [64] [65]
Baton Rouge is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish. Since 2020, it has been the second-largest city in Louisiana after New Orleans; Baton Rouge is the 18th-most-populous state capital. According to the 2020 United States census, the city-proper had a population of 227,470; its consolidated population was 456,781 in 2020. The city is the center of the Greater Baton Rouge area—Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area—with a population of 870,569 as of 2020, up from 802,484 in 2010. Baton Rouge is the fourth most populous city proper in the Deep South region of the southeastern United States.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
Ascension Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created in 1807. Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2010 U.S. census placed the population at 10,215, up from 8,757 at the 2000 U. S. census. At the 2020 United States census, 9,286 people lived in the city. The city is the largest area of commercial and residential development in Livingston Parish. Denham Springs and Walker are the only parish municipalities classified as cities. The area has been known as Amite Springs, Hill's Springs, and Denham Springs.
Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or subtropical for 16 days, most of which was when the storm was over land dumping torrential rainfall. The storm developed from a tropical wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico on June 4, 2001, and struck the upper Texas coast shortly thereafter. It drifted northward through the state, turned back to the south, and re-entered the Gulf of Mexico. The storm continued to the east-northeast, made landfall on Louisiana, then moved across the southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic. Allison was the first storm since Tropical Storm Frances in 1998 to strike the northern Texas coastline.
Acadiana, also known as the Cajun Country, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained much of the state's Francophone population.
The Florida Parishes, on the east side of the Mississippi River—an area also known as the Northshore or Northlake region—are eight parishes in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,836 fatalities and damage estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. At the time, it was the costliest tropical cyclone on record, later tied by Hurricane Harvey of 2017. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, gauged by barometric pressure.
The article covers the Hurricane Katrina effects by region, within the United States and Canada. The effects of Hurricane Katrina, in late August 2005, were catastrophic and widespread. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, leaving at least 1,836 people dead, and a further 135 missing. The storm was large and had an effect on several different areas of North America.
Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Specifically, there was a delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans, Louisiana.
This article contains a historical timeline of the events of Hurricane Katrina' on August 23–30, 2005 and its aftermath.
Hurricane Katrina struck the United States on August 29, 2005, causing over a thousand deaths and extreme property damage, particularly in New Orleans. The incident affected numerous areas of governance, including disaster preparedness and environmental policy.
Central is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, second largest city in East Baton Rouge Parish, and part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. The state's newest incorporated city in April 2005, Central had a 2020 census population of 29,565.
Galvez is an unincorporated community in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States, ten miles (16 km) southeast of Baton Rouge. It is surrounded by the larger unincorporated community of Prairieville, with which it shares the 70769 ZIP code.
Urban Search and Rescue Missouri Task Force 1 (MO-TF1) is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Boone County, Missouri. The task force is sponsored by the Boone County Fire Protection District and is designated as the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Response Team for the state of Missouri.
The effects of Hurricane Georges in Louisiana included $30.1 million in damage and three deaths. Forming from a tropical wave over the Atlantic Ocean, Georges attained a peak intensity of 155 mph (249 km/h) on September 20, 1998. Over the following several days, the storm tracked through the Greater Antilles and later entered the Gulf of Mexico on September 28, the Category 2 storm made landfall in Mississippi before dissipating on October 1. Before landfall, about 500,000 residents in Louisiana evacuated from low-lying areas. The mayor of New Orleans declared a state of emergency to allow federal assistance into the state. After nearly 1.5 million people were urged to evacuate coastal areas, officials described the evacuation as "probably the largest [...] we have ever achieved".
Valarie Dawn Hope Hodges is a politician and businessperson from Denham Springs, Louisiana. She is a member of the Republican Party and represented from 2012 to 2024 the 64th state House district of the Louisiana House of Representatives which includes the rural portions of northwest Livingston Parish and northeast East Baton Rouge parish including the areas of Pride and Watson. nN January 2024, she moves up to the District 31 seat in the state Senate.
The Cajun Navy are informal ad hoc volunteer groups comprising private boat owners who assist in search and rescue efforts in the United States as well as offer disaster relief assistance. These groups were formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and reactivated in the aftermaths of the 2016 Louisiana floods, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, the 2018 Hidalgo County flood, Hurricane Florence, Tropical Storm Gordon, Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Ida, and Hurricane Ian They are credited with rescuing thousands of citizens during those disasters.
Hurricane Barry was an asymmetrical Category 1 hurricane that was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in Arkansas and the fourth-wettest in Louisiana. The second tropical or subtropical storm and first hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, Barry originated as a mesoscale convective vortex over southwestern Kansas on July 2. The system eventually emerged into the Gulf of Mexico from the Florida Panhandle on July 10, whereupon the National Hurricane Center (NHC) designated it as a potential tropical cyclone. Early on July 11, the system developed into a tropical depression, and strengthened into a tropical storm later that day. Dry air and wind shear caused most of the convection, or thunderstorms, to be displaced south of the center. Nevertheless, Barry gradually intensified. On July 13, Barry attained its peak intensity as Category 1 hurricane with 1-minute sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 993 millibars (29.3 inHg). At 15:00 UTC, Barry made its first landfall at Marsh Island, and another landfall in Intracoastal City, Louisiana, both times as a Category 1 hurricane. Barry quickly weakened after landfall, falling to tropical depression status on July 15. The storm finally degenerated into a remnant low over northern Arkansas on the same day, subsequently opening up into a trough on July 16. The storm's remnants persisted for another few days, while continuing its eastward motion, before being absorbed into another frontal storm to the south of Nova Scotia on July 19.
St. George is a proposed city in Louisiana that was approved in a ballot initiative on October 12, 2019. Upon incorporation, it would become the fifth largest city in Louisiana and the second largest in East Baton Rouge Parish with a population of 86,316. The proposed city originates from a previously unincorporated area of East Baton Rouge Parish located southeast of the City of Baton Rouge.
AT&T is donating $100,000 to two organizations to help restore Louisiana following the recent floods. The contribution will be divided between the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and DonorsChoose.org.