Eight years ago, one of the most impactful weather events in southeast Louisiana history occurred. This was the Great Flood of 2016, and its legacy has left a lasting impact on all who experienced it. The event proved that it does not take a named tropical system to do tremendous damage.

In August of 2016, the National Hurricane Center was tracking a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. This system had a chance of developing into a tropical depression before it moved inland but ran out of time to do so. Carried along with this disturbance was tons of tropical moisture, all of which would eventually move into southeast Louisiana.

Early on Friday, August 12, 2016, lots of heavy rain with impressive rainfall rates began to spread inland. The rain was unrelenting, and flash flooding quickly developed and became widespread. The heaviest of the rain fell during the first half of the day. Although rain rates moderated for the rest of the day, rain continued. Flash flooding already was causing damage, but the greatest threat had not yet been realized.

The next day, the moderate rain continued and lasted throughout much of the day. This added to the rain totals, with runoff causing many rivers to rise at an extremely rapid pace. These rivers quickly exceeded the flood stage, and this caught many people off guard. The water rose at such a rapid pace that many had to be rescued via helicopter. 

On Sunday, August 14, 2016, many rivers reached record high levels. This is when the river flooding was at its worst. Many homes and businesses were flooded with water, even if located many miles away from any river. As water levels began to recede in the following week, people returned to their homes and businesses to find extensive damage.

In all, 20-30"+ inches of rain fell within 48 hours. This caused flooding that can only be described as catastrophic. 146,000 homes were damaged by the flood waters. The economic impact totaled 8.7 billion dollars. The saddest part, at least 13 people lost their lives. This event will never be forgotten. This is especially true for the people that experienced this event firsthand.

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