Morgan City, Louisiana) - ravaged by the recent hurricanes and last year's BP oil spill in the Gulf of the Mexico country Cajun of Louisiana residents are now preparing for the largest flood of the River area has seen in more than 80 years.
A week ago, the US Army Corps of Engineers opened the North Baton Rouge Morganza spillway, sending torrents of water of the flood of the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River basin.
Designed to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans to serious flooding, the diversion to the Atchafalaya could bring 5 to 25 feet of water in seven rural parishes along the River, affecting more than 25 000 people.
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The parish officials have welcomed the new body will probably open 25 percent of the capacity of the Morganza instead of the predicted 50 percent, a decision which could reduce flood levels.
Although the river and the nearby bayous are topping their banks, floodwater was supposed to have already flooded some communities along the Atchafalaya evolve more slowly than anticipated.
a € ?A combination € factors, including drought for a long time in the field and the body slowing releasing water into the Morganza, giving the opportunity to escape, wildlife has slowed down water, a
Flooding should now crest to Butte LaRose in the river basin may 27 to 24.5 feet and Morgan City near the Gulf may 29 to 11 feet. The slow arrival of the flood has given officials and residents, more time to prepare.
"We have been here for generations, the family after the family after the family and the hurricanes and flooding are something that you learn to live with," said Amanda Frederick, who lives in the community of Stephensvillejust north of Morgan City in the parish of Saint-Martin.
The subdivision where she lives sandwiched between two channels, was last flooded in 1993. In 2008, Hurricane Gustav tore shingles roof, demolished his backyard fence and the hangar and broke windows with flying debris.
Six hundred sandbagsTo to prepare for the next flood, this week Frederick packaged hand nylons 600 bags provided by the parish with sand and has built a mini dam of feet in height three ringing her home.
"We expect about two feet of water in our yards here so it could be worse, but it is still much work to keep off," she said.
Up to the Atchafalaya, residents of Butte LaRose face a Saturday morning mandatory evacuation order, leaving the hamlet a ghost town. In the nearby city of Henderson, zydeco dance halls could be packed on normal weekends is empty.
"Just people now expect the water to come and have disappeared so that they can start to clean up," said Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette. "They're coming back to any-, it is the Cajun way."
Residents can have a long wait, as flood waters are expected to take weeks to clear, but they will help when begins cleaning.
This week, the Governor Bobby Jindal insured residents affected by the flood flooding insurance private and Federal is covers the damage. Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Administration said that the local parishes will be refunded 75% of the costs for the preparation of the flood. However, some local officials including Terrebonne parish President Michel Claudet, said that parishes should be fully reimbursed.
"Houma, our largest city of Terrebonne, should not be affected, but we have smaller communities outside of the reception system which are very threatened by this flooding, which is not a natural event for us, said Claudet"adding that more than 1,600 houses may be at risk.
Terrebonne, the Parish has distributed 300,000 sandbags to residents.
Outside of Morgan City, a five hundred foot barge was cast in oak Bayou to create a roadblock improvised blocking turmoil in flooding in some parts of Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes. A second barge will be casting in proximity black Bayou.
The parish workers, assisted by volunteers and prison inmates, worked 18 hours a day for the last week, install tens of thousands of feet of water, of barricades of sandbags filled dams, of sand and baskets of Hesco filled to protect homes, schools and roads in the low-lying areas.
Local school systems have made contingency plans if the schools are forced to close and meet the needs of students who may not be able to travel because of the flood waters.
The Atchafalaya River Morgan City, the city of Berwick is ready for the flood on Friday afternoon.
Berwick Elementary School, located a block within the wall of 17 feet high flood of the city, school Secretary Crappell of students watched Penny that they were waiting for the day walks.
"We expect the biggest flood we have ever had" "I've lived here all my life and we expect the biggest flood we have ever had - six inches higher than 1973 - but if you are inside the wall of the flood."", you should be okay," said Crappell, who also sits on the City Council.
"Our school is going to be in agreement and my house is going to be okay, but our family business will be flooded," she said, nodding toward the floodwall.
Down the street across the flood wall, Crappell fish market was already surrounded by six inches of water as a flood swollen Atchafalaya away by yards.
Crappell husband, Reid, expected several metres of water in the building and has already implemented a portable market protected by the wall of the flooding near the town of landing boat.
"The oil spill last year hurt us because people in other States wanted to buy the Louisiana catfish, so things were just to return to normal and now it happened," he said. "This flood could put us out of the business of fishing for the next two months, but it will be a bumper season now to crawfish, so we are already in the future.".
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