Flood — Vernon, Louisiana

2016-03-10 to 2016-03-19 · near Burr Ferry, Vernon, Louisiana

Event narrative

Water quickly rose along the Sabine River on the 10th as flood water flowed into the basin from Toledo Bend and from the area tributaries. The river set a record crest on the 11th of 53.82 feet at Burkeville which was 5.77 feet above the previous record set in 1999. Areas along and west of Louisiana Highway 111 were flooded with the worst hit community being Evans were almost every home flooded, some were flooded to the roof tops. Around 400 structures were reported flooded with around 200 considered majorly damaged or destroyed in Vernon Parish. Highway 8 near the river was heavily scoured with the south side of the road collapsing near the stateline. The bridge across the river was still closed more than 2 months after the flood with the supports undermined.

Wider weather episode

Heavy rain from the 9th and 10th pushed Toledo Bend Reservoir to a record high level. This forced the spillway gates to fully open. Additional flood waters flowed into the Sabine River from tributaries pushing the river to record flood stages at observing points south of the dam to Interstate 10. This flooded many structures along the river and washed out some roadways.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.1714, -93.5692)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 625653. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.