If you’ve been praying for rain, your prayers were answered in a big way on this Labor Day. The answer to those prayers came in the form of rains that flooded parts of New Orleans, Slidell, and other communities in the metropolitan area.
According to WWL-TV’s preliminary reports, New Orleans City Park and parts of Lakeview received at least seven inches of rain Monday afternoon, while Gentilly and Mid City received around four and five inches, respectively. WWL-TV’s radar estimates showed even greater rain totals, picking up nearly 10 inches of rain in the Mid-City area.
Slidell also picked up several inches of rain, flooding some of that city’s major thoroughfares. Gause Boulevard became impassible because of high water, forcing authorities to close that road and reroute traffic until the water subsided. At least one driver became trapped in high water while trying to drive down a flooded road. Officers rescued that driver and posted video of the rescue to Facebook.
Meanwhile in New Orleans, the usual low-lying roadways flooded, creating problems for drivers throughout the city. Interstate 10 just past the 610 interchange at West End was closed because the railway underpass became inundated with water. The Canal Boulevard underpass also flooded. One of the on-ramps sending traffic onto the Pontchartrain Expressway towards the Crescent City Connection flooded, leaving one driver and her car trapped in the high water. The driver escaped and was able to call for help as flood waters rose to the side view mirrors of her car.
While much of the flooding has subsided, neutral ground parking is in effect in New Orleans through 8 a.m. Tuesday.
