Flood — Bossier, Louisiana

2015-06-01 to 2015-06-30 · near Ferry, Bossier, 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 Bossier Parish side of the Red River with several 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. Many roads were closed adjacent to the Red River in Bossier Parish including the Arthur Ray Teague Parkway between the Shreveport Barksdale Bridge and the Century Link Center, all roads leading into and around the River Bluff Subdivision, all roads in and around the Cash Point RV Park in north Bossier and Hwy. 537 from Pittman Road to Log Ferry Road. La. 515 in south Bossier was closed from the Loggy Bayou Bridge in Red River Parish to U.S. 71 in Bossier Parish. Atkins Clark Road and Levee Board Road in the south part of Bossier Parish was also closed from severe backwater flooding. About 32 homes were affected by water including 9 homes completely inundated. The worst subdivisions affected were the River Bluff Subdivision and the Cash Point RV Park, both of which were under a recommended evacuation during the height of the flood. In the River Bluff Subdivision, about 2 dozen homes had water in them and several others were threatened but saved from sandbagging efforts. In the Cash Point RV Park, about 50 RVs and mobile homes suffered water damage. The Cash Point The Party Place establishment also suffered water damage. In the Buckhall Road area, about 10 homes just north of Cash Point saw flooding. South of Bossier City at the Red River South Marina, 5 large mobile homes and 34 cabins suffered water damage and in Ash Point near Taylortown, one home suffered water damage. In Bossier City itself, the Boardwalk suffered severe flooding when the storm drains backed up inside a retaining wall around the Boardwalk. The businesses inside the retaining wall were not affected however as they were built at a higher elevation. On June 9th, around 730 pm, a major gas line ruptured in the River Bluff Subdivision where flood waters were several feet high. Fortunately the rupture occurred in newly developed portion of the subdivision where no new homes had been built yet and no injuries were reported. Bayous and waterways in South Bossier which feed the Red River also saw severe backwater flooding including Loggy Bayou, the Flat River and Red Chute Bayou. Emergency Shelters were set up at the Elm Grove Elementary School which was manned by the American Red Cross. About 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. 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. Damage estimated by Bossier Parish, Louisiana Emergency Management Officials was near 5.6 million dollars and that damage estimate did not include agricultural or environmental monetary losses.

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 → (33.0180, -93.8631)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 578218. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.