Deluge strikes hard at Eunice

A deluge struck Eunice shortly before daylight Saturday that would cover state and local roads with impassable water.
Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said the water was neck-deep in places.
The mayor said his day began at about 3 a.m. and by 4 p.m. he and Police Chief Randy Fotnenot were headed from City Hall to the fire station on Park Avenue to set up a command post.
People were being rescued by boats and fire trucks as the water rose in Eunice, he said.
“I can’t tell you how many rescue calls they’ve had. They had a lot. It has been nonstop,” he said.
“I heard on the radio a lady was going into labor was stuck at the Raceway gas station. They couldn’t get to the hospital,” he said.
Despite the flood of water and chaos, no injuries were reported. he said.
School buses were taking people to the shelter, he said.
The rescued people were first taken to the fire station then moved to the City Hall lobby and eventually to Word Ministries in the old Walmart store on West Laurel Avenue -- U.S. 190.
The shelter opened about 8 a.m.
At 10 a.m. Fontenot estimated about 100 people were at the shelter and he expected at least 50 more would stay there.
“I’ve been in contact all morning with emergency preparedness for St. Landry Parish and they are getting some resources out here to help us,” he said.
The Red Cross was on the way and the National Guard had been contacted for assistance.
“It is really bad,” Fontenot said. “I haven’t had a chance to really drive around. I didn’t want to because the water is so high.”
The water was draining by 10 a.m., he said, but there still many places that were flooded.
“It came dow so much it didn’t have anywhere to go,” he said.
One problem area was the bridge on West Maple Avenue and Bobcat Drive.
“It looks like the bridge is going to collapse. I had to call State Police to get them to come and assess with the DOTD because it looked like that bridge at Maple and Bobcat Drive is about to collapse.”
A drainage canal makes a right angle turn at the bridge, which is scheduled for replacement within a year, and doing a whirlpool during the flooding, he said.
Lafayette television stations are reporting from 17 to 18 inches of rain fell in Lafayette.
“I’ve never seen the water like that,” Fontenot said.
U.S. 190 and La. 13 were covered with water, he said.