KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana |Red Chute levee holding but officials urge caution

Red Chute levee holding but officials urge caution

BOSSIER CITY, LA (KSLA) - The levee holding back the waters of Red Chute Bayou held Saturday night and Sunday morning, though water continued to spill over the top of the levee.

Emergency Preparedness officials continue to watch the levee and worked hard during the night to fortify any weak spots. As of noon Sunday, no homes threatened by Red Chute or Flat River had flooded.

Officials are asking the residents in those northeast Bossier City neighborhoods to consider leaving their homes because there is still a threat the levee could breach.

The Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says there are more than 1,600 homes and 4,200 residents in the potential flood area. The subdivisions in immediate danger from flooding include: Dogwood, Stockwell, Brookhaven, Victorian Pointe, Tiburon, Carriage Oaks, Carriage Oaks Crossing, Lafayette Park, Stonebridge and Richmond Cove.

Red Chute's waters began spilling over the levee early Saturday. As midnight approached, the bayou had still not crested and the water was coming over the levee at a quicker pace. Officials hoped the bayou's level would crest sometime early Sunday morning.

At least one emergency official said this flood could be worse that the area's previous floods of 2001 and 1991. On Saturday afternoon, officials strongly urged residents in the potential flood areas to evacuate their homes before it was too late.

"If someone wants to stay that bad, there's nothing we can do about it," said Bossier City Fire Chief Sammy Halphen. "But we're urging because we care and because we don't want to see anyone end up stranded for days or hurt or potentially lose their life ... it's (the flood) is bad enough."

During the night, Bossier City and Parish authorities went door-to-door to convince residents they needed to evacuate.

"People need to take this very seriously," said Halphen.

Authorities fear that people living in these neighborhoods aren't as concerned as they should be. At last report, water from Red Chute was coming over the levee and sandbags at a steady flow, but the levee itself had not broken. Authorities say if there's a breach in the levee, the water will flood the area quickly and people would then be trapped.

Further south in the Sligo and Caplis-Sligo road areas, residents say Red Chute Bayou has already topped its banks and begun sending floodwaters into home. The areas seeing the most damage now are the Orchard Subdivision just off Sligo Road to the west of Highway 157 and the Pecan Grove neighborhood, which sits east of Highway 71 off of Caplis-Sligo Road.Residents who live just behind Louisiana Downs area also reporting flood waters coming in to the E. Highland Mobile Home Park.

Anyone with special needs like a physical disability or who need assistance leaving their homes should call 425-5351. You can also call the Bossier Sheriff's Office at 965-2203.

Officials are moving the people in the shelter at Platt Elementary School to the old Parkway High School and will just have the one shelter open.

Bossier Parish has opened a new sandbagging location in the southern part of the parish at Highway 157 and Sligo. Other sandbag locations in Bossier are: In Haughton at the new fire station on E. McKinley, at the Bossier City Maintenance Facility on Old Shed Road at Tinsley Park, and at the Public Works Facility on Mayfield Street in Benton.

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