LAFAYETTE PARISH — Severe flash flooding early Wednesday morning significantly impacted parts of Acadiana, with Lafayette among the hardest-hit areas.
Olivia Rider, a relatively new resident of Potpourri Village in Scott, described the flooding in her neighborhood, "Seeing all my neighbors and this community flooded, some up to their doorsteps, was pretty crazy. I've never seen that before," Rider said.
Rider, who has lived in the area for only six months, noted that she had a sense of the severity of the weather after receiving a call from her boyfriend early that morning,"He mentioned cars being stalled, and it was hard to get to work. like, how can people make their money and go to work in this kind of weather? But that’s Louisiana for you," Rider added.
Felton Duhon, a longtime resident of North Gentilly Road in Lafayette for 75 years, has lived through many floods.
On Wednesday, Duhon was in the process of moving his vehicle after his grandson had borrowed it and got stuck in the high waters, "My grandson was trying to get back into the neighborhood. He's just 21 years old and not used to driving in these kinds of conditions," Duhon explained. "One thing led to another, and well…we’ll see what happens."
While Duhon was able to eventually move the vehicle, he shared his approach to navigating floodwaters safely. "You just gotta take your time and not rush anything, because if you do, the water tends to get into the engine and short out something. You just take your time and let the vehicle pull itself through," he said.
Warren Abadie, the Public Works Director for Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG), explained the relationship between the heavy rainfall and the roadway issues. "When you get rainfall at those rates, the drainage capacity of the streets is exceeded. The water then pools on the streets, which leads to a lot of stalled vehicles," Abadie said.
While Abadie and his team are working to manage the flooding, he urges residents to practice caution.
