Many drivers stranded after all-day deluge in Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Longtime Lake Charles residents usually know which streets to avoid, yet this time many found themselves in trouble, even in high riding vehicles.

The water was up to the hoods of some who ventured south of 18th Street on Ernest Street. That’s an area where some residents say they have water in their apartments.

As vehicles drive through the water, waves wash up over the curb sometimes pushing water toward homes and businesses.

Walgreens at 18th and Ryan Street was like an island in the midst of a lake.

Rachel Mere was there, happy to find a safe spot to pull off flooded streets.

“I think it’s crazy. I think we’ve been through enough in the past year and we’re seeing flooding that we didn’t even see from Delta,” she said.

Mere works downtown but lives south of Lake Charles and says when she left this morning, water was getting dangerously close to people’s homes.

“Usually it drains and it’s not draining. I live south of town off Ham Reid and we’re not in a flood zone, and a lot of the houses almost are taking in water, ours included. My husband is there now,” she said.

Mere was in a holding pattern, trying to decide about trying to get home.

“I’m at a standstill because right here, I don’t know how to get home. I’m kind of just sitting at Walgreens right now,” she said.

From the debris in the parking lot, it was clear the water had been higher at one point. But when the rain is almost constant, it’s risky to rely on any road providing a safe way home.

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