On Monday, a slow-moving storm passing over Louisiana dumped over a foot of rain in just a few hours. At least four fatalities have been attributed to this storm as of Wednesday, according to the Louisiana Department of Health after the intense storm flooded roadways and knocked out power.
AccuWeather Global Weather Center – May 20, 2021 – Residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana, are now picking up the pieces from a fourth significant weather event in less than a year.
Blue tarps still cover a handful of damaged roofs in the area after hurricanes Laura and Delta, which were followed by a deep freeze in February that froze pipes and caused drinking water concerns. Then on Monday, a slow-moving storm passing over Louisiana dumped over a foot of rain in just a few hours.
About 12 to 15 inches of rainfall fell over south Lake Charles within a 12-hour period with other areas of the parish seeing 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
The Lake Charles Regional Airport recorded 12.49 inches of rainfall on Monday, surpassing the last daily record of 3 inches, set back in 1914. The average amount of rainfall for the airport during the month of May is only 5.2 inches.
Buildings in Lake Charles, Louisiana, still bear the marks of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. (AccuWeather / Kim Leoffler)
At least four fatalities have been attributed to this storm as of Wednesday, according to the Louisiana Department of Health after the intense storm flooded roadways and knocked out power. Three of these deaths were associated with a flooded vehicle or a crash into a flooded canal, and the fourth was a man who died as a result of oxygen failure due to a power outage caused by the storm.
A "nightmare" is how Lake Charles resident Alexis Wilson described the scene from her front door Monday after floodwaters from the overwhelmed Contraband Bayou rose to the front steps of her home and breached her garage. Her two cars were both damaged and marked as "a total loss."
Floodwaters reached the front steps of Alexis Wilson's home on Monday as a slow-moving storm drenched Lake Charles, Louisiana. (AccuWeather / Kim Leoffler)
"I've never seen anything like this, and I watched (Hurricane) Ike from that bridge over there," Wilson told AccuWeather National Weather Reporter Kim Leoffler.
At the Contraband Bayou, rainfall totals measured higher than the airport reports, totaling 15.07 inches in the area.
Lake Charles resident Don Dixon told The Associated Press that on Lake Street, the scene was like a raging river.
"Water came up about 6 inches from going into my house," he told the AP. "It got pretty close. I was very, very lucky."
Highwater rescue crews responded to more than 300 calls in East Baton Rouge overnight, and more than 250 people were brought to higher ground, according to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, The Advocate reported. Fire spokesman Curt Monte told the news outlet that the calls were from a mix of people who had been trapped in cars and people who needed to be rescued from homes and apartments that were taking on water.
Giovanna Rocha and her husband spent the day Tuesday ripping up parts of their walls and floors after several inches of floodwaters had seeped in, damaging their home.
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