A Decade Later: The Great Flood of 2016

We never made it home when we got a phone call from a photo- a fellow coworker at that time.

His wife called and said, "My husband's stuck in front of Denham Springs High School.

Can you guys go rescue him?" We're in a Jeep, so it's a little higher.

We go rescue him, and I'm gonna make this story a little bit shorter for you.

So he's at the house.

It's now going on about 10:00.

We think we're about to call it a night, and, um, we get a knock at the door that the floodwater is coming up.

The water's coming up in the back of the neighborhood.

We need to get out.

And he's like, "Wait, water never comes up here." He steps out, and the first step to the house is completely covered.

So I'd say the water was probably nine inches deep at this point.

Um, and we both look at each other, say, "What do we do?" And he's like, "I guess let's go." So the three of us try to hurry up and get as many cars out as we can because remember the photographer is with us.

All day, the photographer and I, Darren was his name, is his name, we had been covering flooding.

We had been telling people, "If you need to get out, make sure you take this.

Make sure you take that," blah, blah, blah.

And but y'all, you can tell all you want.

In that very moment, when that water is rising, you literally have time to grab whatever you possibly can and get out.

I didn't think pillows.

I didn't think blankets.

I didn't think anything like that.

We tried to get as many cars out as we could.

Like I said, it was three drivers.

Gave Darren a vehicle, and both of us grabbed a vehicle, and we left.

Well, we went and pulled up at a gas station, and then we're trying to figure out now what.

The phones aren't working.