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Remembering the 2016 Baton Rouge flood 10 years later

An aerial view taken from an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter shows severe flooding in a residential area of Baton Rouge, LA on Aug. 15, 2016. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Leake.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
An aerial view taken from an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter shows severe flooding in a residential area of Baton Rouge, LA on Aug. 15, 2016. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Leake.

Tuesday, August 11, marks 10 years since a series of storms dumped torrential rainfall over 21 Louisiana parishes. Over the course of a few days, the floodwaters rose, inundating homes and displacing thousands of residents. The Baton Rouge area was particularly hit hard by what the National Weather Service called a 1,000-year flood.Last week, Louisiana Public Broadcasting released a documentary special, “The Great Flood of 2016: 10 years later.” 

Christina Jensen, co-host of LPB’s “Louisiana: The State We’re In,” worked on this documentary project. She spoke with WRKF’s Adam Vos for more.

As we continue to mark the 10th anniversary, the East Baton Rouge Library is hosting a series of events to remember the damage, devastation and impact.

It gets underway Monday night with a presentation of oral histories collected from people who lived through the storm.

Library Coordinator for Special Projects Brandon Reilly tells us more. Then, flood survivor Terry Newby-Mearidy shares her story.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Karen Henderson is an award-winning journalist whose stories have aired nationally on NPR.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.