AVOYELLES PARISH — MANSURA, La. — A Mansura family is recovering at an American Red Cross shelter after being rescued from rising floodwaters that surrounded their home as heavy rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur moved through Avoyelles Parish.
Charlene Bar said conditions worsened quickly early Thursday, with strong winds and water pushing toward the house. “We’re kind of trapped here … it started moving very quickly,” Bar said.
Bar said she realized the situation was more serious than a typical storm. “This is not just rain. Something else is going on,” she said.
She said there was little time to react as water entered the home rapidly. “It just started flooding everything from every direction,” Bar said.
Bar said she feared she, her husband, their autistic son and the family dog were stuck until rescuers arrived by boat. “I don’t know how they knew we were there,” she said.
The family was taken to a Red Cross shelter along with other residents who were displaced by the flooding. Joe Norton with the American Red Cross said the widespread damage is among the worst he has seen in years.
“The only other time I’ve seen flooding this bad is when it affected my hometown in 2016 — the historic 2016 flood, the no-name storm as they called it at the time,” Norton said. “My house actually flooded then.”
Throughout the day, community members and organizations delivered supplies including food, water and clothing to support people impacted by the flooding, Norton said.
With damage reported across the area, Gov. Jeff Landry toured Mansura on Friday afternoon. Landry said the state is working to provide relief to people affected in Avoyelles Parish and elsewhere in Louisiana.
According to KATC’s Weather Lab, Mansura received about 12 inches of rain in roughly 12 hours which is equivalent to a once in a 100 year rainfall.
Bar said her family is safe but the experience brought back memories of riding out Hurricane Katrina with her mother more than 20 years ago. “This just brings back so many memories,” she said.
Right now, Bar says the family plans to take things one day at a time before starting the long process of rebuilding and finding a permanent home. The American Red Cross says it will continue helping displaced residents and will keep operating out of the community center behind Mansura Town Hall until further notice.
