Flooding in Avoyelles Parish

[00:00:00]No.

[00:00:02]>> Everybody, I'm going to give you all a second to jump on in here.

[00:00:15]What highway is this right here? What 1179? Thank you.

[00:00:20]Everybody, Stephen Maxwell here in uh off of Highway 1179 in Bodoc, just outside of Dupont. We went the other way. We tried to go to Dupont a little while ago to uh get into the area, but they said the water was too high.

[00:00:34]Let me give you all a second to get some viewers here.

[00:00:58]All right. So, I'm here on Highway 1179 uh near Bodoc uh near Dupont, in Bodoc, near Dupont uh where we're kind of at a staging area. Let me flip this around.

[00:01:12]We're at a staging area where a lot of the the boats are coming through and people are coming through.

[00:01:16]>> The only thing we're doing is getting old people out of their houses.

[00:01:20]>> Would you mind talking to us on camera real quick?

[00:01:22]You have Okay.

[00:01:23]>> Don't you want >> Uh what's your name?

[00:01:25]>> Billy.

[00:01:25]>> Corbett.

[00:01:26]>> Billy Corbett. Okay, so you live right here at this house.

[00:01:29]Uh tell us what you guys have been doing and what what the scene's like.

[00:01:32]>> Trying to get people out of the houses.

[00:01:33]>> Um >> It's it's pretty bad over here.

[00:01:37]It's bad.

[00:01:38]>> And you're a farmer, aren't >> Yes. I think pretty much lost the whole crop.

[00:01:42]>> Lost the whole crop.

[00:01:43]So, you've been going back and forth trying to rescue people by boat. What have you seen and what has that been like?

[00:01:48]>> Oh, it's it's horrible. It it's horrible. Uh water's flowing through houses. Um I don't know. It's it's It's good. It's something I don't want to ever see again.

[00:01:58]>> That's the wife of the nursing >> That's correct.

[00:01:59]>> She was telling us that a lot of old people live in this community in the Dupont area. This is all they have is their home.

[00:02:05]>> Right. They evacuated nursing home yesterday. Um the gas station, it's all flooded.

[00:02:11]Everything's Everything's underwater.

[00:02:13]>> But when you see this the scene that you've been seeing, I mean, how does that make you feel?

[00:02:20]>> Say that again.

[00:02:20]>> what you've been seeing over in Dupont and everything, how does that make you feel?

[00:02:24]>> Prayerful. I mean, do what we can do. Keep our heads up and all we can keep doing.

[00:02:30]We got to keep on keeping on.

[00:02:31]>> Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's it's pretty good to see everyone just coming together.

[00:02:34]>> Yeah, that's right. We got a strong community.

[00:02:36]Uh everybody's helping everybody. And be glad when it's over.

[00:02:42]>> Yeah, I hear you. Well, thank you so much for being kind to you all.

[00:02:44]>> All right. Appreciate it. Appreciate you. Thanks, sir.

[00:02:47]>> Luke said if we need anything, they'll come.

[00:02:49]>> So, like you can see, a a lot of people have been coming through in their truck.

[00:02:54]I I saw as you seen some airboats, we seen some uh other boats come through.

[00:03:01]Uh but now there is uh headed towards Dupont.

[00:03:06]And they uh it's a pretty bad situation over there.

[00:03:10]They said the nursing home was evacuated.

[00:03:12]Uh they said it's a lot of older people in this community, and they have been This is their homes is really all they got. We got the drone up in the sky, so we're hoping to get y'all some aerial video of the situation in Dupont cuz we just can't get there. The water's too high.

[00:03:30]It's just too much.

[00:03:32]Also giving y'all an update, Governor Jeff Landry is going to be at the Avoyelles Office of Emergency Preparedness for a news conference at 2:00 p.m. I honestly, to be quite frank, I just don't know if we're going to make it. Um we're trying to stay out here and get stories in the community.

[00:03:48]Um Of course, the governor is very important, but we're just we're just out and about in the middle of nowhere and we don't know if we're going to make it.

[00:03:55]So, if we do, we'll have it streaming live here, but yeah, we're trying to trying to get the stories of of the people right now.

[00:04:05]Comment if you want us to check out something or let us know.

[00:04:10]This is a boat dock outside of Dupont.

[00:04:13]There's a bunch of uh water rescues happening. We can't go any farther. We've tried to go both ways into to Dupont. It's uh the roads are impassable. It's just too deep. They they advised us against it and we're going to go with that, but yeah, you can you can barely see the road. We talked to the farmers who are kind of like the stage staging areas over here.

[00:04:34]People have been coming here, setting up shop, figuring out where to go to help people.

[00:04:41]So, there's heartbreaking scenes in Avoyelles Parish. It's kind of hard to believe to be honest with you.

[00:04:47]But, we're trying to catch all the places. I had a previous live. We were on for about 2 hours. If you go down my page, you can see [snorts] our coverage there. I just posted a video of a home in Dupont.

[00:04:57]I mean, it's like knee-deep water in that house, if not more. It's just awful, awful.

[00:05:03]You can see more uh people coming through. We got the trucks out here.

[00:05:07]Looks like we have an electrical crew as well.

[00:05:11]Uh we saw a bunch of uh Cleco line workers or linemen and uh wildlife and fisheries and National Guard when we were passing through Plaucheville. So, there are people out and about, but we are trying to get that information.

[00:05:24]This Tara Bordelon commented on my previous live asking about her parents, how they're doing in Dupont.

[00:05:31]I messaged her, uh but if y'all know her parents' names or if she's watching, please let me know your parents' names and I'll try and get some information. She said She said she was not able to get a hold of them.

[00:05:49]>> So, the electrical truck turned around.

[00:05:52]My man turned around. So, it was that truck.

[00:05:58]And it just looks like a lake out there.

[00:06:01]This is technically Bodoc, outside of Dupont. So, you want to talk to me again?

[00:06:06]Hate to make you do it again.

[00:06:08]So, you guys have been You guys have been doing a lot of help here. This is y'all's home, but you're kind of been the staging area around the edge of the floodwaters.

[00:06:15]>> Right. Yes, yes, we have.

[00:06:16]>> Tell us what you've been seeing and how that's been, so.

[00:06:18]>> Um just the side-by-sides, boats, four-wheelers, people turning around.

[00:06:24]Um the boats are being launched in my neighbor's driveway and going towards Dupont area to get people out.

[00:06:32]>> You've never ever seen anything like this?

[00:06:33]>> Absolutely not. This is This is never.

[00:06:38]And people who've lived here for 60, 70 years have never seen this, either.

[00:06:45]>> It's pretty heartbreaking to see this, I'm sure.

[00:06:47]>> It's very heartbreaking. Very heartbreaking cuz everybody in this community knows everybody in this community, and when you see their houses being complete total losses, you just You can't you can't not feel it for them.

[00:07:02]>> They don't have flood insurance, do they?

[00:07:04]>> Absolutely not. This is not a flood zone.

[00:07:08]So, I don't know what's going to happen.

[00:07:10]I sure hope they do something.

[00:07:14]You know, call it a put a disaster FEMA, let them come in and help the older people and all the other people, you know, that have had [laughter] the floodwaters in their house.

[00:07:25]>> And uh what you were saying, this is a very tight-knit You can keep talking. Very tight-knit community.

[00:07:30]>> Absolutely tight-knit community. Um everybody knows everybody. Everybody helps everybody.

[00:07:38]>> And that's what you guys have been doing, too, on that. See you guys hard at work trying to almost kind of coordinate everything.

[00:07:44]>> Do I want a beer?

[00:07:46]>> [laughter] >> I need a beer.

[00:07:52]Yeah, waterfront property though.

[00:07:55]How you like that? Waterfront property in Bodoc.

[00:07:58]Never thought.

[00:08:04]Well, what time is it?

[00:08:07]They're probably needing it cuz they're probably about to round it up and finish up so they probably all need a good beer.

[00:08:15]I have water, you have beer.

[00:08:18]All right, guys.

[00:08:21]Like I said, close-knit community. Everybody Everybody looks out for everybody else.

[00:08:27]I promise you. If something's going on next door, we're going next door.

[00:08:32]>> Yeah, absolutely. Your husband was saying that they're doing a lot of water rescues and going door to door by boat.

[00:08:39]>> Door to door and I just posted on Facebook. If y'all have anybody in Bodoc or Dupont area that needs to be rescued that have not been rescued yet, please please comment on Facebook, tag me. My name is Monica Deville Crawford on Facebook. Tag me. Let us know, we will go and get them.

[00:09:02]We will go and get them.

[00:09:08]Yeah, and if she does, just let us know, we'll figure out a way to get her out.

[00:09:11]We got boats.

[00:09:13]>> Uh anything else?

[00:09:15]>> Just say some prayers. I don't know what else we can do. There's nothing else we can do.

[00:09:19]>> I think y'all are getting a lot of them, but uh hopefully y'all get the help you need.

[00:09:22]>> And for the water to go down, just pray that the water just recedes before we get more rain tonight.

[00:09:27]>> Do you think it's gone down a little bit since this morning?

[00:09:30]>> If it has, maybe a few inches. I don't even think it has. I haven't seen it.

[00:09:36]I've been watching it all morning since probably about 7:00 this morning. I've been sitting at the end of the driveway helping people go in and out.

[00:09:44]>> Well, we'll be praying for you guys. I'm so sorry.

[00:09:46]>> Well, thank you. Pray for the farmers, too.

[00:09:49]Because the farmers have lost everything that they have in the fields.

[00:09:53]>> We were looking at one video, too. Uh There's a home in Dupont. It was like up here inside the house.

[00:09:58]>> Mhm.

[00:09:58]>> Just losing everything, so >> Well, further down the the lane, I have uh one of my best friends' moms. They have a foot and a half.

[00:10:05]>> That's insane.

[00:10:06]>> Mhm.

[00:10:06]>> Who would have thought?

[00:10:07]>> Who would have thought in in Bodoc on 1179?

[00:10:11]>> Well, I'll be praying for y'all.

[00:10:12]>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:10:16]>> So, that was uh the people who own this house right here, they've been helping out a lot.

[00:10:20]Uh as you can see, 1179, right?

[00:10:24]Highway 1179 in Bodoc going to Dupont.

[00:10:29]And uh it is impassable for the most part. At least we're not taking our truck down there, but we were seeing boats coming in and out. Uh they're trying to rescue people. So, again, uh the governor is supposed to be in Marks Ville at 2:00 today. We're going to try and be there, but I'm not going to promise you if not we're going to make it, but you could probably watch that somewhere.

[00:10:48]Maybe he'll have some updates, but uh thank y'all so much. Yeah.

[00:10:52]No, you did good. You did good.

[00:10:55]It was great.

[00:10:58]Oh, no, you did great.

[00:11:01]And like these are their crops across the street here, their corn, and they have the beans as well over here.

[00:11:06]And they're afraid they're going to lose the beans.

[00:11:08]So.

[00:11:10]Possibly the corn, too, but you can see the situation here in Bodoc near Dupont.

[00:11:16]I got some drone video that we're going to post as well for y'all.

[00:11:24]Like I said, I can't get in the I can't get in the Dupont.

[00:11:28]Too much water, but I have a bunch of drone video. We'll try and uh get that posted here in just a bit. If you're curious or you're concerned about what the DuPont area looks like, then we'll get that to you as soon as possible. So, thank you all so much for joining. If I see something else down the road, we'll just go live again.

[00:11:44]I appreciate y'all.

[00:11:47]>> Thank you.