Given the unprecedented flooding in the greater Baton Rouge area this past weekend and the springtime flooding in north Louisiana, flood protection is now an issue of statewide concern, says Jeremy Alford in his latest column.
“In recent years when folks from Houma, New Orleans and Thibodaux would beat their policy drums for better flood protection, their more northerly neighbors in places like Baton Rouge and Lafayette would simply nod their heads sympathetically,” Alford writes. “Meanwhile, those near the Arkansas line, up around Shreveport and Monroe, would express mild and well-meaning concern.”
Communities further from the coast—or those not located along flood-prone rivers and bayous—had their own individual needs to advocate for, Alford says.
“That changed this year, beginning in March, when more than 20 inches of rain fell on some locales in north Louisiana, like in the vicinity of Monroe,” he writes. “In Bossier City, residents were stranded as floodwater reached four feet. A portion of the interstate south of Shreveport even had to be shut down. When the waters finally receded, more than 5,000 homes, farms and businesses had been damaged or completely destroyed. Then there was the widespread disaster from this past weekend, which was followed by further threats of high water that stretched into Monday.”
During the first eight months of this year alone, President Barack Obama has had to issue disaster declarations for north, central and south Louisiana, Alford notes, adding that most of Louisiana has found common ground this year when it comes to the horrors of floodwaters.
“That’s going to put unparalleled pressure on Louisiana’s congressional delegation to push for more affordable flood insurance, which was already a top priority,” Alford says.
According to state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, 75% of property owners affected by this most recent round of flooding did not have flood insurance.
Many of those who didn’t have it will undoubtedly want to buy in now, Alford says, adding that after hurricanes Katrina and Rita washed ashore in 2005, the number of policyholders increased by 30%. He says a similar spike is already anticipated in the coming months.
“On the state level, coastal lawmakers who have traditionally pursued flood protection projects through the state’s capital outlay program, for annual construction needs, will soon be joined by their colleagues from Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport and elsewhere,” Alford predicts. “It’s already a competitive process, with only so much money to go around, and determining which regions have the greatest need will be a monumental task.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
