ADDIS — Upwards of 15 people were rescued, with some sheltering in place, after several inches of rain fell in a span of roughly three to four hours, flooding Addis in West Baton Rouge Parish.
West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies and Addis Police officers had to rescue stranded people in a high water vehicle as well as in trucks and trailers. Specifically, the Chad Dr. area in Addis had to be evacuated, per Addis Mayor David Toups.
Lakesha & her elderly mom in a wheelchair were rescued out of their home on Chad Dr., where they were loaded onto a trailer, pulled by a WBRSO deputy.
“We waded through thigh-deep water to get to dry ground to the trailer,” Lakesha said. “The water started coming into the bottom floor of the house.” They had just moved into the home three days ago.
“Thankfully, they hadn’t moved all the downstairs furnishings in yet,” she added.
All rescued people were taken to the VFW Hall in Addis or the neighboring fire department, per WBRSO.
State Climatologist Jay Grymes says roughly 8.5 inches fell over the Addis/Brusly area in a three to four hour timespan. He added the rain is winding down now.
“It’s a lot of water everywhere, but the water is moving. It’s going to all the drainage servitudes. It’s backing up to try to get through the highway, through the railroad tracks and going to the intercoastal canal. But of course, we know the river is up too, so water is draining. We had water on some streets. That water has already drained off. In front of Sugar Mill, there were a couple of areas on the boulevard that accumulated water and somebody got stranded. They had to push them out early this morning. So it’s gonna take a while, but it’s moving. We’re making sure that it’s continuing to flow that nothing obstructs it,” Mayor Toups said.
Mayor Toups tells UWK 2016 comes to mind seeing the amount of water in Addis. He said the last time Addis had this much water was roughly in 2021 when several inches of rain fell in a short amount of time.
“The main thing is to please stay off the streets that have water on it. If you do have to get on the street for some reason, please go slow and don’t create a wake that will push water into people’s homes,” the mayor added.
West Baton Rouge has set up sandbag locations. People are required to bring their own shovel, but the parish is providing bags and sand.
- William & Lee Park: 1631 Louisiana Ave. in Port Allen
- Rivault Park: 900 South Jefferson Ave. in Port Allen
- Alexander Park: 250 Elaine St. in Brusly
- Erwinville Park: 5110 Rougon Rd. in Port Allen
- Myhand Park: 8201 Laws Rd. in Addis
- South Winterville Water Tower
- Lobdell Fire Station: 2937 Lafiton Ln. in Port Allen
- Addis Fire Station: 6875 Hwy. 1 in Addis
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
