I never could have imagined that something terrible could happen in the town I grew up in. I had never thought of Winnfield, Louisiana flooding. Before this storm, I watched tragedies on the news. I didn't know the places or people onscreen, and as such, it didn't mean that much to me. This week, however, tragedies became very real to me very quickly. I watched as the homes of people I knew were destroyed, and the National Guard rescued people who had been stranded due to rising flood waters . I wasn't watching the destruction on a TV channel -- I was seeing it all unfold not even a mile down the road.
When I arrived in Winnfield early Thursday morning, there weren't a lot of places underwater. Cole Road, a short distance from my house, was still relatively dry, and the water didn't look like it had started flooding any homes. The rain had pretty much stopped, and I thought the worst had come.
I was wrong. Not even an hour later as I drove back towards Cole Road, what I saw was unrecognizable. Houses were underwater; people were driving around in boats. The sight was so incongruous to me that I almost slammed on my brakes. I knew this neighborhood. I drove by it every day for years, and now I didn't even recognize it. It had become a lake decorated with houses.
This picture, taken by Ashley Solet, shows the flooding that occurred on Cole Road in Winnfield, Louisiana.
Places that I had played and roads I had driven looked like lakes. If I had not known these things had been there, then I would not have noticed the impact of their absence. Seeing homes of people I knew five feet underwater hurt. I could not imagine their pain as their home, with all their memories and irreplaceable belongings inside, filled with flood water in a mere matter of hours.
Everything these people had was now gone, and they had no home to retreat to. Even when the waters recede, they will still feel the effects. This isn't like a flooded road, easily patched. The people affected most by this will not forget the flood as easily as we may. When you lose everything, nothing will ever be the same again. The flood is not some news event. It is a very real tragedy that has impacted thousands of people throughout Northern Louisiana. The effects will be felt for many, many years.
This picture, taken by a Winn Parish resident Marcie Huddleston, shows her camp on Saline Lake.
In face of the tragedy, however, citizens of my town banded together. Facebook was no longer a social media website meant to share funny posts or to debate about politics. It became a hub of crucial information. People posted pictures of flooded roads and bridges so others would know to avoid them. GoFundMe accounts were created in order to help raise money for families that had lost everything. Posts that were about flash flood warnings and shelters for those who had been evacuated quickly became viral. Entire statuses were dedicated to helping people get to their homes. People offered up their houses for people to stay in temporarily while others let people use their boats to return to their flooded homes. People were even willing to donate personal items to give to families who had lost everything.
This picture, taken by Jennifer Beal Clark, shows Ashley Solet rescuing her dogs from her flooded home on Cole Road.
In times of darkness and tragedy such as this, I am grateful that I live in Winnfield, a town that bands together in the face of adversity, is full of people who would rather crawfish in the rising flood water than start riots, and where we embrace each other when we most need it.
This picture, taken by Wendy Reed Carpenter, shows Keary Martin, Daniel Barnett, Brandon Barnett, and Gabe Johnson rescuing a flag from flood waters on Highway 126 in Winn Parish. A marine mom named Carol Gracie from Jackson Parish thanked the young men saying, "Our sons and daughters and their families make many sacrifices to defend our beautiful flag and many times these sacrifices are unappreciated...This speaks volumes for these young men that they would take the time to save our flag from being destroyed in this flood."
