The Forgotten Flood

Abstract

Louisiana, a Southern coastal state in the United States flanked by Texas and Mississippi, has seen its share of disasters in the past several decades. From epic Hurricane Camille in 1969 to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with pervasive aftermath and local, national and global media coverage. The article describes the thousand year flood meaning the extent of this magnitude only happens once in a thousand years. Experiences seem to be fading from the collective memory, despite massive loss of property, businesses, life and landscape. The article shares two flood stories, one single male who is a painter and lost everything in a remote and rural place in French Settlement, and is still homeless, and one doctoral student who was in a more populated suburb of Baton Rouge and has since rebuilt her home with her partner. Both people continue to be productive against the devastating loss of being physically displaced from their homes for months. The article’s intent is not to establish hypotheses or theory, but to share narratives nested in a time where humanity in coverage and science seems left to what the political flavor of the day is. The people persist. Even when others don’t pay much mind.