As Hurricane Francine approaches the Louisiana coast, City-Parish officials in Baton Rouge have positioned sand and sandbags at nine different locations in the area:
- Airline Highway Fairgrounds
- Alsen Park
- Cadillac Street Park
- Doyles Bayou Park
- Hartley-Vey at Gardere Park
- Lovette Road Park
- Memorial Stadium
- Flannery Road Park
- Zachary Youth Park
Residents quickly flocked to the sites Monday night filling anywhere from 10 to 50 bags a person to help prevent flooding.
“I just want to be safe,” said Dadrian Ellis, as he shoveled sand at Cadillac Park. The memory of the city’s last major flood event in 2016 still looms large for him, when 20 to 25 inches of rain were dumped on some parts of the city. Thirteen people were killed.
“I lost two cars and my house,” Ellis said. He remembers waking up in the middle of the night with water at the foot of his bed. He hopes placing sandbags in his doorways will prevent it from happening again.
Gilbert Royal was also thinking about the 2016 flood as he shoveled sand. He was forced to evacuate Baton Rouge first to a relative’s place, then temporary housing, he said, after his home in Sherwood Forest was inundated with 5 and half feet of water.
“I’m gonna do 50 [bags] today and probably come back and do 50 more,” Royal said.
Flooding from Tropical Storm Francine isn’t expected to reach 2016 levels, but city and state officials are still urging residents to be prepared.
The storm is forecast to be a Category 2 hurricane when it makes landfall. There are no evacuation orders for the Baton Rouge area. Local officials are instructing residents to shelter in place.
“This is not the first time we’ve been here,” said Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome at a press conference Tuesday. “It's crucial all of us take this storm very seriously.”
She told residents to watch local news and the city’s social media for updates. Broome also urged residents to prepare a disaster supply kit, with enough food, water and supplies to last at least 72 hours.
For Dadrian Ellis, that means stocking up on three essentials, “Gas, water and cold cuts” he said.
Baton Rouge has overhauled its drainage system since the 2016 floods, including a $255 million project funded by the Army Corps of Engineers that cleared portions of Jones Creek, Ward Creek and Bayou Fountain.
“We have spent a lot of time and effort,” said the parish’s drainage director Fred Raiford during the press conference. “Are we where we need to be? No, not yet, but we’ve made a lot of progress.”
The slow-moving storm is expected to dump 7 to 9 inches of rain on the state over a period of 12 hours once it makes landfall, according to state officials. Broome also warned of high winds and the possibility of isolated tornadoes in the area.
The National Weather Service’s hurricane watch extends from Sabine Pass to Grand Isle, meaning hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the area in the next 36 hours.
