Louisiana flooding is the country’s ‘worst natural disaster’ since Hurricane Sandy, Red Cross says

Washington Post ^ | August 17 | Emma Brown, Ashley Cusick and Mark Berman

[BenLurkin]

After two feet of rain began falling Thursday night, water rose quickly in Baton Rouge and then migrated east and south, leaving a vast swath of damage. At least 40,000 homes have been damaged, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards (D). The death toll has risen to 13.

Roads remain flooded and closed, while schools, businesses and government offices have been shut down for days. The country has not seen a natural disaster this bad since 2012, when Hurricane Sandy pummeled the East Coast, according to the American Red Cross.

“The current flooding in Louisiana is the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy,” Brad Kieserman, vice president for disaster services operations and logistics for the Red Cross, said in a statement. “The Red Cross is mounting a massive relief operation, which we anticipate will cost at least $30 million and that number may grow as we learn more about the scope and magnitude of the devastation.”

Many scrambling to escape the water or witnessing the chaos from afar have wondered why the flooding has not gotten more widespread national attention. William W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), referred to those concerns at a news briefing in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, but he assured residents that the federal government was deeply aware of the scope of what happened.

...

he number of those stranded and still needing rescue “was next to impossible to say,” said Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, “and it’s changing every minute.”

Teams are going to search as many as 30,000 homes and buildings in at least five parishes over the next two weeks, said ... state fire marshal, whose office is coordinating the urban search and rescue effort.

[kennedy]

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stay Our Glorious Leader from the swift completion of his appointed rounds of golf.

[Blood of Tyrants]

I take that as a rhetorical question be we all know that The One can do no wrong.

[Married with Children]

From what I understand- LSU campus is fine even though they are on the other side of the Mississippi River levee.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Local liberal TV station is actually posting an article with the headline:

http://www.wral.com/the-latest-conway-says-trump-apology-was-all-donald-trump-/15942598/#K31U6bW55Fzos1oh.99

The Latest: Trump arrives in Louisiana to tour flood areas.

The Manafort resignation is just a one sentence jab near the end of the article. I am surprised but pleased. However, if it were Hillary, the article would not be “down the page” but would a blaring top headline.

[JBW1949]

CBS news this morning said people were voicing concern about Obama not going to LA...They then said in one little sentence that Trump was going to “visit”....

[PGR88]

[Romulus]

Katrina was a governmental power grab on EVERY level. When things go off the rails, government’s natural reaction is panic and crackdown on freedom.

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

It appears that the Global Warming alarmists are sitting this one out, as not to shed bad light on Obama’s inaction.

[GraceG]

[BenLurkin]

Good point!

(They’ll bring it up in a few years, after the LIVs will have forgotten Obama’s non-role completely.)

[rjsimmon]

Perhaps folks should not live in a city below sea level, which holds back the gulf waters by constructing series of earthen dikes?

If you live in the desert, you don’t get to bitch about lack of water.

[BenLurkin]

I’m not in the area, but am pretty sure this flooding is well above sea level.

[dfwgator]

[SandRat]

The FEDS (FEMA) and local Emergency Preparedness still haven't learned since ‘Katrina’ , use the DUKWs!

[dfwgator]

Guess we all were thinking the same thing.

[dfwgator]

Don't worry Sean Penn will save the day....

[SandRat]

Though hardly sleek or stylish, the hull of this truck was designed by famed yacht designer and 1937 America’s Cup winner Roderick Stephens. The automotive components were developed by GMC, based on its 2 1/2-ton, 6×6 model CCKW cargo truck. Though ungainly looking, the DUKW was outstandingly seaworthy. Though envisioned as a means to transport equipment and men from ship onto the shore, and some distance beyond, they were also used inland, notably during the crossing of the Rhine.

The DUKW was standardized in October 1942, and production began immediately at the Yellow Coach plant in Pontiac, Mich., which was also home to CCKW production.

Despite its successful demonstrations and tests, the DUKW was not fully appreciated by many in the military until after its successful use during the invasion of Sicily. After that, the DUKW’s place in history was sealed.

Demand for the DUKW became so great that a second production facility had to be added, this one at the Chevrolet plant in St. Louis, Mo. Production totaled 21,147 vehicles by the time production ceased at war’s end.

The name DUKW is an acronym resulting from GMC model code: D indicates 1942 model year design, U is utility truck, amphibious, K for all-wheel drive, W for tandem rear axles.

Because of its unique abilities, the U.S. military did not phase the DUKW out of service until the 1960s.

[Will88]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the campus is on higher ground, or protected by a levee. Kept listening for some news about whether the campus was also flooded.

[rjsimmon]

I’m not in the area, but am pretty sure this flooding is well above sea level.

You are correct, but not in the "well above" part. BR is 17' above sea level but being as far inland as it is, it is remarkably flat. The Mississippi meanders there and has flooded the city several times, the worst of which was 1972 but roughly every 10 years it does so again, but its frequency is increasing, reducing that pattern to every 3-5 years. The State officials could open the Morganza spillway but have only done so a couple of times.

[SandRat]