Alexandria, VA—September 21, 2016. The Baton Rouge area received between 25 and 30 inches of rain for three days on August 11. The Lafayette area, where numerous FRA Branch members live, received 15 to 20 inches. Baton Rouge FRA Branch 371 has more than 75 members living in the affected areas. Two days of flash flooding inundated the homes of several shipmates. The Amite and Comite rivers both rose to new record highs from August 13 to August 15, 4.5 feet above previous record crest. Tens of thousands of homes were completely destroyed and many were not located in flood zones.
What is commonly referred to as a flood zone is also called a 100-year flood zone. More accurately, there is a 1% chance of flooding each year. Those outside the flood zones are sometimes referred to as being in a 500-year flood zone. This recent event has been called a 1000-year event. Official estimates, as of 9/2/16, were more than 160,000 properties were affected.
Using maps of flooded areas, FRA Branch officers made a list of 50 shipmates to contact. For those shipmates who reported damage to their homes, FRA Branch 371 President David Thompson and Vice President Jay Johnson personally drove to each residence to survey the damage of approximately 40 shipmates. Thompson stated, “We had to drive through crowded streets and around mountains of flood debris to check on each house, including some who live more than 120 miles away. It is heart-rending to see mile after mile of ruined homes.”
It is imperative to ‘gut’ or remove everything as soon as possible from a flooded house to prevent mold from blooming. Mold will still be there, but is much easier to clear if the house is dried out quickly and all furniture, flooring and drywall are removed. Once a house has been gutted it is not fit to live in. After 12 days, Thompson and Johnson contacted all shipmates with damage homes and sent the final list to FRA national headquarters. Soon after, checks issued from the FRA Disaster Relief Fund were presented to fellow FRA shipmates to help with their needs.
