_{FLOOD AFTERMATH. Water recedes from St. Alphonsus Church in Greenwell Springs, La. Courtesy of Richard Meek}

 

BATON ROUGE, La. — As flood waters finally began to recede in southeast Louisiana, officials of the Diocese of Baton Rouge were beginning to assess the carnage caused by a historic storm that in some areas dumped up to 20 inches of rain in as many hours.

The numbers are staggering, the most sobering being 13 people having lost their lives. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards estimated more than 60,000 homes have been damaged, but at least one estimate puts that number at more than 100,000.

More than 30,000 individuals had to be rescued from their homes, and thousands of others were evacuated ahead of floodwaters.

The Red Cross is calling it the worst natural disaster in the country since Hurricane Sandy struck New Jersey in 2012.

“We were in straight-up survival mode,” said Tim Hasenkampf, a resident of Port Vincent who used his boat to evacuate friends and extended family members after getting his own family to safety.

“It has been tough,” added Hasenkampf, a Baton Rouge fireman who, despite losing his house, has spent numerous hours helping others in gutting their homes while water recedes from his own.

The storm, which first began to unleash its nearly weeklong fury on Aug. 12, packed a one-two wallop that drove water into areas that had never experienced flooding. Initially, torrential rains from the slow-moving system caused street flooding, which forced water into homes.

But the greater damage came in the days that followed, as area rivers overflowed their banks and flowed freely into neighborhoods, businesses and even major thoroughfares. At one point, Interstates 10 and 12, the two main arteries in and out of Baton Rouge, were closed. Along I-12, some motorists were trapped in their cars for more than 30 hours.

An estimated 75% of homes in Livingston (civil) Parish were damaged, with the majority being total losses. Several pastors estimated that as many as 75% to 90% of parishioners suffered damage.

Approximately 80 diocesan employees were severely impacted, with several losing their homes. Many of those families impacted took advantage of the diocese’s offer of temporary housing at the Bishop Tracy Retreat Center, which is located on the Catholic Life Center campus.

“It’s going to change the whole dynamic of Holy Rosary (in St. Amant) as a parish as we know it,” said Father Michael Galea, pastor at Holy Rosary. Holy Rosary was spared initial flooding, but the following weekend the church and rectory took on water from backwater flooding.

“It’s not going to be the same,” Father Galea added. “And we are going to lose quite a bit of people if they choose to move away. But, hopefully, with love and compassion and a lot of hugs we can become a family all over again. That is what is most important: for us to be together again.”

Ten days after the first drops of rain began to fall, one major highway in the Sorrento area, which is about 30 miles south of Baton Rouge, remained closed, as backwater flooding was slow to recede.

“As we all know, the severe flooding in many areas of our diocese has dramatically affected the well-being and livelihood of countless people,” said Baton Rouge Bishop Robert Muench in a videotaped message on the diocese’s website, DioBR.org.

“To those so impacted, I express genuine empathy, heartfelt solidarity and commitment to help as best as we can,” he said, also thanking “those who have so impressively and sacrificially reached out to serve.”

Joe Ingraham, chief financial officer for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said six churches — as well as at least two schools connected to those churches — took on water in varying levels. However, Ingraham said it appears none of the churches are total losses.

Four of the churches affected by the record flooding have flood insurance, but the two that did not are covered under a diocesan policy, Ingraham said.

St. Alphonsus in Greenwell Springs and Immaculate Conception in Denham Springs appeared to have been hardest hit by the floodwaters, which reached levels of more than 10 feet in some areas, necessitating rooftop rescues reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago.

The entire St. Alphonsus Church and school campus were flooded.

At one point, 35 evacuees who were brought to the church by boat stayed in the second floor of the school after the floodwaters forced them to evacuate from the school’s cafeteria.

“It’s a work in progress. This is the worse devastation I have experienced, worse than anyone could have expected,” said Father Mike Moroney, pastor of St. Alphonsus.

Tears flowed from the church community, but they were more for what others experienced rather than for themselves. They were assessing who needed help, who needed food and supplies, etc.

“It’s frustrating because I know so many people need help,” Olga Johnson, director of religious education, said through tears.

Parents of students and parishioners were on hand to help mop, remove items from the classrooms and other buildings, sort items, clean and help “wherever they could.” Computers, tables, chairs and other items were moved so carpeting could be ripped up. Youth, some who were school graduates, pinned items on classroom bulletin boards, looking forward to the day students would be back in the classrooms.

“They came ready to work even though they had their own issues,” said Johnson.

Recovery efforts began long before the skies cleared, but perhaps one of the more unusual outreaches occurred along Interstate 12 on Aug. 13, in Albany, La., where St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church is located. St. Mary pastor Father Jamin David said the stranded motorists had nowhere to go.

“We opened up our facilities to everyone,” Father David said. “Really, it was the multiplication of the fishes.”

He said one stranded motorist was a caterer initially headed to Abita Springs, less than 40 miles from Albany. The caterer asked if she could use the parish’s stove to cook the food since she was not going to be going to the event and did not want the food to go to waste.

“We opened up the kitchen and fed about 500 people,” Father David said, adding that the 20 acres around St. Margaret were fine but that many of their parishioners have suffered major flooding.

“We noticed there was a humanitarian need on I-12, and (parish officials) decided — what a better way to minister to people.”

Since the storm, donations have been coming in from all over the world in the form of cash as well as gift cards and truckloads of supplies. The Knights of Columbus donated $200,000 to the diocese for the relief effort and another $30,000 to the Knights’ State Council in Louisiana, which is coordinating relief work by local Knights. The Knights of Columbus have also been providing assistance from Knights in the region.

“We have seen incredible generosity from our members,” said the organization’s CEO, Carl Anderson. “The funds we raise will go directly to help those affected by this tragedy, and working closely with the Catholic Church and our Knights in Louisiana, we will continue to make a real difference in the lives of the people of the Baton Rouge area.”

Richard Meek is the editor and general manager of 

The Catholic Commentator, the newspaper

of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.