Flood — Caddo, Louisiana

2015-06-01 to 2015-06-30 · near Missionary, Caddo, Louisiana

Event narrative

Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May in the Red River Basin of Southern Oklahoma, Northern Texas and Southwest Arkansas resulted in very high water on the Red River during the month of June bordering McCurtain County in Southeast Oklahoma, Little River, Hempstead, Lafayette and Miller Counties in Southwest Arkansas, Bowie and Red River Counties in Northeast Texas as well as Caddo, Bossier, Red River, Natchitoches, Winn and Grant Parishes in Northwest Louisiana. Rainfall amounts during the month of May across the Upper and Middle Red River basins of Southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas totaled over 20 inches of rain. At Shreveport, Louisiana, the Red River rose above the 30 foot flood stage on May 30th and rose above the 33 foot major flood stage on June 3rd. The Red River in Shreveport crested at 37.14 feet on June 9th which was the highest recorded crest in Shreveport, Louisiana since the flood of 1945. This was the 22nd highest crest at Shreveport, in recorded history at the gauging location with the flood of record being 45.90 feet in 1849. The Red River in Shreveport fell below the 33 foot major flood stage on June 15th and fell below the 30 foot flood stage on June 17th. A secondary rise on the Red River developed because of excessive heavy rainfall once again in the middle Red River Basin from the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill. As a result, the Red River at Shreveport crested again at 31.06 feet on June 30th. Bank erosion was extreme on the Caddo Parish side of the Red River with 5 thousand acres of farmland and pastureland inundated. Hundreds of head of cattle had to be relocated. The United States Highway 259 bridge, Hwy 8 bridge and the Hwy. 71 bridge going over the Red River were closed. In addition, the west bound lane of Interstate 220 was briefly closed as severe backwater flooding brought water over both east and west bound lanes of the interstate. Other bridges cross the Red River including La. Hwy. 2, Interstate 20, Shreveport/Barksdale and Jimmy Davis Bridges were not affected. Upwards of 36 roadways across Caddo Parish were closed including Clyde Fant Parkway in Downtown Shreveport, Airport Drive, Grimmett Drive, Crockett Street to Shreveport Barksdale Highway, Russell Road, State Highway 3049 from State Highway 538 to 1 mile north of the Interstate 220 underpass, Perrin Street in the Allendale neighborhood, Oregon Avenue, Wells Island Road, Nash, Brice, Hall, Bonnie and Aline streets off Russel Road and other roads near Cross Bayou, Twelve Mile Bayou, McCain Creek and Middle Bayou. Approximately 150 dwellings were affected with 40 homes completely inundated. The worst subdivisions affected were the Allendale and Martin Luther King Jr. subdivisions. 38 homes were damaged in the Martin Luther King subdivision, 41 homes in the Allendale subdivision and 6 additional homes in Southeast Shreveport and an unknown number of homes off of Wells Island Road. Other subdivisions that were threatened included The Haven and Les Maison subdivisions off of East Kings Highway. These subdivisions which were built inside the Red River levee system were saved due to hundreds of residents sandbagging their homes. The Downtown Shreveport River Front suffered severe river flooding with two feet of water covering the Clyde Fant Parkway and the Barnwell Center portion of Downtown Shreveport. Sandbagging efforts resulted in no businesses suffering any water damage from the swollen river. The Northwest Louisiana Red Cross opened 2 shelters to house those residents whose homes were threatened or inundated. The City of Shreveport worked with its partners to protect key city infrastructure including the Amiss Water Plant and the Lucas and North Regional Waste Water Treatment Plants. 255,000 sand bags were made available by local law enforcement and the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security with 655,000 more sandbags on standby. The Governor of Louisiana authorized the activation of up to 200 Louisiana National Guardsman on State Active Duty to support flood response efforts in Northwest Louisiana and assist local, parish and state emergency officials. The Louisiana National Guard Engineering Team constructed an 800 linear foot HESCO barrier, consisting of two rows on the bottom and one on the top totalling 2400 linear feet, to fortify a concrete wall located at Clyde Fant Parkway and Jimmy Davis Highway in Shreveport. Prior to this, the Guardsmen constructed a 610 linear foot temporary berm while assisting Caddo Parish officials to improve protection measures of the Stoner Lift Station. Caddo, Bossier, Red River, Natchitoches and Grant Parishes signed emergency declarations due to the excessive flooding and disaster teams from The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and The Governor's Office of Homeland & Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) surveying efforts continued as of this writing. A Federal Disaster Declaration was issued for Caddo, Bossier, Red River, Natchitoches and Grant Parishes in Northwest Louisiana for the Red River flooding event of 2015. Preliminary damage estimates of just Caddo Parish totaled 8.2 million dollars.

Wider weather episode

Excessive heavy rainfall during the month of May resulted in very high river levels on the Red River which borders Caddo, Bossier, Red River, Natchitoches, Winn and Grant Parishes in Northwest Louisiana.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0168, -93.8672)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 577986. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.