Baton Rouge Flood 2016

I've had a lot of people messaging and asking how things are going here in Louisiana.
There is no simple way to answer that.

I know people are watching the news and saying, "Oh they can handle this. They get hurricanes all the time."
Let me assure you, this is no hurricane.
This is absolute devastation.
At least with a hurricane there is time to prepare, buy supplies, evacuate and have an emergency plan in place.
There was no time to prepare for this.
It's now being called a 500-year flood.

What does that mean?
It means most of these people did not have flood insurance and did not prepare because they were told that they weren't in a flood zone.  Places are flooding that only flood once every 500 years!

Remember the images you saw from hurricane Katrina with people waiting for help on their roofs?
Imagine that... Except there is hardly any dry land to retreat to.
Water is still rising.
Places that are dry now may not be dry in the morning.
Several shelters, housing hundreds of people, have had to evacuate.
Every Boudreaux and Thibodeaux I known is out in boats trying to rescue as many people as they can.
People are getting out of their homes with just the clothes on their back - leaving everything behind. Some are even swimming out, with their children and a few valuables in plastic crates.
Upon being rescued, some people are brought to dry land and then left to wait on a family member to reach them - if that's even possible.
Rescuers are out in school buses trying to haul as many people to safety as they are able to reach.

We have never experienced anything like this in the history of the state.
The devastation is widespread, as is the desire to help.
The national guard has been called in, but right now there are more people in need, than there are volunteers to reach them.
What do you do when the "safe places" are also being swallowed up by water? When people are on Facebook posting desperate pleas for help because 911 is back logged and no one can reach them?

We pray.
We cry.
And we pray again.

And for those who have said that this is a "cleansing" or a "judgement" from God - shut your mouth!
Your words are neither loving nor helpful.
Right now people need compassion and prayer.
Families have lost their pets, their homes, everything they own - their entire lives!
You playing "prophet of doom" is not helpful to anyone.
In the words of Thumper, "if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."
When the waters recede, our state and our people will need help rebuilding our lives.

But for now, just pray.