Flood — Bossier, Louisiana

2009-10-14 to 2009-10-31 · near Ferguson, Bossier, Louisiana

$3.0M

Property damage

Event narrative

Excessive heavy rainfall during the middle and latter portion of the month resulted in very high water conditions on the Red Chute Bayou from the Dogwood Trail bridge southward to Sligo, Louisiana and High Island. The crests for Dogwood Trail and High Island did not occur until the early part of November and this information will be included in the November Storm Data publication. Extensive sand bagging operations commenced on the Red Chute Bayou during October 25th and continued through month's end in the area between Bossier City and Haughton, Louisiana. The newly built Red Chute Diversion was operated at full capacity and completely filled the neighboring Flat River to the west of Red Chute Bayou to slightly out of its banks. Caddo and Bossier Office of Emergency and Preparedness reported several flooded streets and an overloaded sanitary sewer system, however, homes for the much greater part were spared from flooding. Low potential levees were overtopped during the final day in October on the west banks and floodwaters surged into neighborhoods into eastern Bossier City, Louisiana. Nearly all the flooding affected streets and thus drained into the sanitary sewer and storm runoff system. Several residents reported stopped up plumbing and flooded yards, however, most homes are built up with some one to two feet higher than the street system, thus the street system serves as a last report floodways. Parish emergency management reported that some 50 million dollars of damages were averted with the sand bagging operations and also using the Red Chute - Flat River diversion system. Also as levees were overtopped along the west edge of Red Chute Bayou, the NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning with was consistent with NWS directives on October 31st. Several area residents assisted with the sand bagging efforts including first responders, correctional center inmates, military personnel from nearby Barksdale Air Force Base, the National Guard. Approximately 2500 people living in subdivisions along and near the Red Chute Bayou were evacuated. Flood preparedness activities were estimated to have cost between 2 and 3 million dollars alone. Federal Disaster Declarations were approved for Bossier Parish as a result of the storm damage, both tornado and flooding, during the month of October.

Wider weather episode

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.5758, -93.6451)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 199037. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.