Louisiana left stunned by damage from ‘1,000-year’ flood: ‘It just kept coming’

An enormous and slow-moving rainstorm has laid waste to much of southern Louisiana, which the National Weather Service has called a “1,000-year” disaster.

 

By Monday afternoon, more than 20,000 residents had been rescued from the historic floodwaters, and as many as seven had died.

 

People here stay prepared for hurricanes, and all the cataclysm they bring. But this storm did not arrive with noise and velocity; instead it unfolded over several days, sneaking up almost without notice. Then the rivers topped their banks.

 

In Tangipahoa parish, Louisiana, Donnie Prince woke up Thursday morning to the sound of police on a bullhorn.

 

Read More: Louisiana left stunned by damage from ‘1,000-year’ flood: ‘It just kept coming’ | US news | The Guardian