Saturday, May 14, 2011

Going Under - The Flooding Has Begun

It's official, the Army Corp. of Engineers has made the agonizing decision to open the Morganza Spillway, about 40 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, to prevent the raging Mississippi River from flooding Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It began today at 3 pm, CST. They called it the lesser of the two evils, as it will divert some of the Miss. River into the Atchafalaya River and Basin, but will flood everything on the west side of the river, all the way down to the Gulf. While this is good news for Baton Rouge and New Orleans, it is the worse possible news for the tens of thousands of residents in the Atchafalaya Basin corridor. Here is a map of the projected inundation. Click to enlarge.


It means that quite literally, 3 million acres will go under water, including homes, businesses, churches, schools, farms and crops, wildlife, and anything or anyone that stays behind. Water levels are expected to crest at 29 feet on the lake side of the Henderson Levee, which means that Basin Landing, Whiskey River Landing, and McGee's Landing will all be totally submerged. These are some of my favorite places on earth, that are only 15 miles away, and it is so very sad and heartbreaking. They've all been moving everything out, and preparing to evacuate, for days now. Imagine it!


And my dear friends in the community of Butte Larose have also had to move everything they own to higher ground and will all be evacuating shortly, if they haven't already. As hard as it is, at least they had time to get out and save their belongings, unlike with tornadoes and earthquakes. Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers. Here is a video, from CNN that pretty much sums up the situation in Butte Larose and all along the Atchafalaya Basin, in Cajun country.Thankfully, Lafayette is not expected to flood. Click here for the flood tracker site.


32 comments:

A Kitchen Witch said...

Ooh, how terrible. All are in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

I will certainly keep you all in my prayers... Please take care... and let us know how we can help as you start to evaluate everything in the days to come.

ellen abbott said...

Oh, so sorry to hear that. how terrible for them.

Jeni said...

All this flooding -from the Ohio River and on down with the Mississippi -just has me terribly depressed and frankly, heartsick, for everyone being affected by this. Marguerite, I have been worried about you especially -how does this affect you and your family? I hope -and will pray -that all manage to stay out of harms way -no injuries and please, no deaths too. What a terrible way though to cause a flood in order to try to avert another flood!
Peace be with you, my friend!

T. said...

Marguerite, this is shocking. I have no words, no way to respond to this except to say that life is often terrible, difficult.

xo

kitchen flavours said...

This is really sad and shocking news. I'm glad that at least your place is not affected but my heart goes to the ones who are. Will include them in our prayers to keep them safe. Take care, my friend!

Debra said...

I have enjoyed visiting your blog. So very sorry to hear of all this flooding. My heart and prayers go out to all that will be or has been affected. I was born in Port Sulfur and grew up in New Orleans and now live in Mississipi so I have a very tender place in my heart for Louisiana.

God bless,
Debra

Pooch Purple Reign said...

i feel so sad about this :(:(:(
hugs and prayers
~laura xx

Kathryn Magendie said...

*sigh* makes me so sad - I lived in Baton Rouge many years - and long ago used to fish and crawfish somewhere around whiskey river landing - hard to believe all this will be gone. Dang. South Louisiana just keeps being hit and hit and hit with the hard stuff.

*hugs*

Kat said...

I have been concerned for everyone along the great Mississippi River. I watched your neighboring towns packing up all their belongings. Probably having to start all over again after the water receeds. My prayers are with your great state. Love to you and yours.

Mary Bergfeld said...

My heart aches for these people. I hope you are in an area that will not be directly affected by the flooding. I'll keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. Stay safe and dry! Blessings...Mary

Joanne said...

Such sad stories, I can't even fathom how the families find the strength to pack up everything in preparation for losing their homes and everything home stands for. It's just so tragic, my heart goes out to them.

The Harried Cook said...

Wow... thank you for sharing this... I feel so much for all the families and I will uphold them and the whole town in my prayers....

Marguerite said...

Many thanks to all of you for your caring comments and prayers. My family and I live in Lafayette and will not be directly affected by this flood. But, we know a lot of the people who are, and appreciate your kind concern, and especially your prayers.

Cloudia said...

gosh! we've been thinking of YOU in all this!


as someone who has grabbed & run several times recently my heart is with you and all effected. so sad




Warm Aloha from Honolulu, mon ami

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Honey at 2805 said...

All of the flooding is so tragic. Will be keeping you all in my prayers. Take care.

Denise Covey said...

I've been following this on the news in Australia. Brings back memories of early this year in Brisbane where they had to open the floodgates of the dam and flood the city and towns. Tragic.

Denise<3

Drick said...

have been watching this all weekend, heartbreaking... I tell ya Marguerite, times they are a changing - in the last several years, it seems the weather just has not been kind to us, and with all this water bottled from the Ohio river valley area moving our way, it is not favoring us again...

Nancy said...

This is just so incredibly sad. I will keep everyone in my prayers. This flooding is just mind-bogling. It is appearing all over the world. Parts of Indonesia, Australia, Pakistan - now the Mississippi. Wow.

Linda Starr said...

How terrible, I had no idea of the magnitude of the impending flooding till I saw your map here, this is a real tragedy for so many people. So terrible, loss of homes, farms, businesses and whole towns.

Pam said...

I have been following this and think it is horrendous; all the people, houses, establishments and farm land, crops and animals that will suffer from this. I can't even imagine starting over when the water subsides. My heart goes out to everyone and I'm glad you are in a safe area Marguerite!

GYPSYWOMAN said...

i had left a comment here the other day or so i thought - perhaps it was one eaten by the blogger monster - in any event, dear lady, thanks so much for keeping us posted on things and many many caring thoughts to all impacted! hugs - gypsy

nanny said...

So very sad! I've been thinking of you! Like you said, at least they had time to get everything out, that's to be thankful for!
Take care and keep us posted!

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Sounds bad, oh dear, I will follow this on your blog.

Velva said...

Louisiana can't seem to catch a break these last few years. I have been following this story and sending positive thoughts.

Velva

Shammickite said...

The same thing is happening in Canada... some dykes and levees have been breached on purpose to avoid worse floods further downstream of a couple of rivers in Manitoba. My prayers go out to everyone who is in danger of losing their homes and their livelihoods.... even just temporarily.

Mrs BC said...

Oh, my heart goes out to you & your neighbours. We went through something similar in January here in Brisbane, Australia. Now everyone says 'What you lose in the flood you gain in community' But it just sucks to lose anything in the flood, & the clean up afterward is a chore for the body & soul. Sending thoughts of safety to all of you.
xxx

Miriam said...

God bless, and stay safe. Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

Kittie Howard said...

I'm relieved you're out of harm's way and have everyone in the flood zone in my prayers. I' heartsick, actually. You know, they raised the prospect of off-shore drilling here (Va/Md) and people went beserk...not on our gorgeous beaches! So the prospect died.

I don't know how much more South Louisiana can take (the land not the people; the people are sturdy stuff) Every year it's something major.

I also don't know if Blogger's still acting up or if the thunderstorms we're having are affecting connections.

Eddie Bluelights said...

Catching up on the news, Marguerite, after my forced absence from cyberspace after my phone line was cut. I am deeply moved by the sad news of people being flooded and the consequential damage. Must be heart breaking for them. They are of course in my thoughts and prayers. May God bless them all.

Magic of Spice said...

Oh Marguerite this is so horrifying. My heart goes out to everyone involved. I am so happy that you are in a safe area from this but I know that it still directly effects you.
I am not able to play the video but will try and get updated.
Be safe

California Girl said...

Never mind the question in my previous comment on another post.

My husband and I lost everything we had when the Army Corp of Engineers flooded our tributary of the Ohio back in 1978. It was a life changing experience. Luckily, we were young and bounced back but it took at least a year to get our bearings and start over...back in California I might add.

I urge everyone who can to donate money to the Red Cross. They came to our aid with $200 cash, some supplies, a temporary place to stay and no questions asked. We've donated to them every year, more than once usually, since.