Louisiana has seen two historic floods just five months apart, and though similar in nature, the devastation is vastly different. Rev. Allison Sauls was living in Monroe during the March flood, and recently moved to Lafayette just before the flood in south Louisiana. She says the flooding in the south was more widespread than it was up north.

“While the flooding in Monroe and the Ouachita parish area while I was there was extreme and affected folks that I knew, it was much more isolated than what has happened this go around,” Sauls said.

Sauls says up north there was more flash flooding from the rain, whereas in the south it was hard to tell if the water was coming from the rain or the rivers. She says it’s been incredible to see folks who are still recovering up north coming to help people in south Louisiana.

“I think maybe it really struck a chord, not only because this is fellow Louisianans, but because folks just went through this five months ago,” Sauls said.

Sauls says much of the flooding in north Louisiana was in rural areas. But she says the southern flood was so expansive it pushed water into more urban areas, especially in the Baton Rouge region.

“Infrastructure has been affected. Business has been affected. While here in Lafayette, for the most part, it hasn’t, and in Monroe it wasn’t,” Sauls said.

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