Wading Through Photos Of Baton Rouge in The aftermath of The 2016 flood
I woke up on Friday, Aug. 13 to find half of my neighborhood submerged. I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, more than 1,000 people needed to be rescued and an untold number of homes were flooded after a steady rainfall saturated South Louisiana and Mississippi between Aug. 12-13.
The Baton Rouge area was among the hardest hit in the state. Fortunately for those of us in the city limits, there were no deaths or major catastrophes, as was the case in communities in Zachary, Baker and St Helena Parish.
I live next door to the LSU campus and the LSU Lakes. It's a younger demographic that is densely packed and filled with sports bars. When I woke up after the flooding I decided to take some photos.
A canal several feet deep next door had overflown, blocking off some of the nearby roads. Kayaks, canoes and inflatable mattresses were used to ferry people back and forth to convenience stores for supplies in case the power went out.
LSU Police officers Joseph and Brooke direct traffic.
Despite the conditions, most people seemed be handling the situation well. I was reminded of the profiles in Thomas Neff's photos after Hurricane Katrina, many of whom appeared good humored and even happy, despite all the destruction.
A pickup truck full of people travels down Highland Road near LSU's Northgate.
"Devin"
Sisters Dasol and Nayoung Choi have a drink at Highland Coffees as they wait for the rain to subside. The two just arrived in Baton Rouge from South Korea the day after the rain started.
Baton Rouge is a city with a lot of problems, but it's a city I've learned to love.
I'm not a student here, but I have found that the LSU community is full of energy and friendly people.
