Flooding in Texas’ Hill Country killed at least 80 people, with dozens still missing, when the Guadalupe River breached its banks by up to 20 feet, washing away summer camps, homes and vehicles. Louisiana first responders and the United Cajun Navy have deployed to render assistance.
Lafayette is no stranger to floods and Lafayette Consolidated Government recently hired a director to lead its emergency planning efforts, which concluded in an emergency response plan that was announced last week.
Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Chad Sonnier says a surge flood event like the one that struck Texas this weekend is unlikely to happen in Lafayette, despite flooding in general being an issue.
“We are just blessed we have more time to plan,” Sonnier says. “They didn’t have that luxury.” The Vermilion isn’t as fast moving as the Guadalupe and less likely to surge at the same speed, giving LCG and first responders more time to respond, Sonnier explains.
There are flood gauges along the Vermilion that alert Sonnier and his team to rising waters, something the Guadalupe was missing, according to reporting by The New York Times.
Should the water levels become concerning, Sonnier says he has another lever to pull: the Ruth Canal. That structure, although in need of restoration, functions to prevent water from Bayou Teche to flow into the Vermilion, adding to any potential flooding.
Should waters rise to a level that made evacuations necessary, LCG would notify residents through it LafayetteNOW emergency alert system. Sonnier’s office also has a tiered plan for housing evacuees using its recreation centers. In total, those centers could hold up to 1,900 people.
But according to Sonnier, by the time the first two centers (Dupuis and Domingue) were close to capacity, the state’s emergency preparedness office would likely render assistance to stage evacuees at larger sites such as the Blackham Coliseum or the Cajundome.
One of the most harrowing aspects of the floods in Texas has been the uncertainty of family members looking for their loved ones, including many children who were at the area’s many summer camps.
According to Sonnier, Lafayette has developed a system to make it easier to connect those searching with those missing. The system allows people searching for loved ones to upload descriptions and photos, which are then shared with hospitals and evacuation sites.
“That’s something else that we’ve implemented that would be huge if we had something of that nature down here,” Sonnier says.