To theantiquetiger

[mbrager]

Just wondering how you are doing with the reports we hear of terrible flooding in the Baton Rouge area? You haven't posted for a while. And of course do you have any photos to share? Take care.

[theantiquetiger]

Thanks for the post. Baton Rouge and the surrounding area took a whipping last week, some 10,000 homes flooded(40,000 people). I am high and dry but my in laws lost everything. Back in 1983, during the "Great Flood", their house was high and dry, so when they paid the house off 15 years ago, they dropped their flood insurance, thinking they would never flood. They took on over 3 feet of water. We got into the house the first day we could (last Tuesday) and started gutting it up to four feet mark. The house is now just a skeleton. They are not going back and selling it as is (losing about $60,000-$70,000 value of the house). they have no furniture and about five changes of clothes. We got them into an apartment today and will get furniture tomorrow (if any avail). Luckily, they were penny pinchers and have quite a nest egg.

After we finished with their house, we gutted a friend's house. All this and I still had to go to work because 1/3 of my co-workers flooded.

I do plan to go out and shoot the devastation. It is indescribable. Entire neighborhoods with the entire contents of the houses sitting out on the curb.

All said and done, there is no engineering design to handle 30 inches (66cm) of rain in 2 & 1/2 days.
Here are a couple pictures I took of my FIL's house when I first got in there

The most important thing in this first photo is the brown box on the counter. It contained all my MIL's photos. They had to leave in such a hurry, they forgot the one thing she wanted to bring with her. It survived.
flood4 by Chris Campbell, on Flickr

flood3 by Chris Campbell, on Flickr


In this second image, you can see the water mark on the fireplace, 12 bricks up
flood2 by Chris Campbell, on Flickr

Here are the kitchen and living room after demo

[mbrager]

Thanks. Good to hear from you even though it isn't all good news. Still in the middle of the political storm though. Good luck with that.

[theantiquetiger]

I was incorrect above. There are over 30,000 homes flooded (120,000 people displaced)

[theantiquetiger]

Here is an update

[Marko]

wow that's just insane AT - so sorry this is happening

[asnow]

Sorry, I'm a little late in responding to this post Good to hear that your house is OK, however my sympathies on your in laws house. Hope you family is starting to get their life sort of back together. I know it is going to take some time to fully recover from this.