Flash flood warnings appeared on phone screens and TV monitors early one Friday morning in south Louisiana during the heat of the summer. In what is typically the norm for an August day and what had already been a tumultuous summer for the city of Baton Rouge, no one expected an unprecedented weather event causing historic floods that washed away homes in the city and surrounding areas.
Three-times of the amount of Baton Rouge’s average August rainfall poured onto the city in the middle of August for 72 hours, claiming the lives of 13 people.
More than 100,000 homes were destroyed; more than 10,000 people were displaced in shelters.
The water rose quicker than fathomable, leaving possessions floating in muddy waters that flowed through homes in what seemed like an instant.
Cell phone service was down, and social media was immersed with requests to locate loved ones, including a plea to help find former “Voice of the Tigers” Jim Hawthorne and his wife, Carol.
Immediately, groups began launching boats in a rescue effort that saw more than 30,000 people get to safe shelter. The Hawthorne duo was one of those rescued by the “Cajun Navy.”
In many places, water flowed in and out of homes, but in others water lingered for days and, in some, weeks.
In what has been the biggest natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, one thing became clear—it was time to focus all for Louisiana, to rebuild and grow together to become stronger than before, Louisiana Strong.
“You don’t realize how bad it is until you see it in person,” LSU baseball’s Kramer Robertson explained as student-athletes from all 16 of LSU’s varsity sports jumped at the opportunity to serve the community, a group of people that is relentless in its support of the Tigers.
Student-athletes, coaches and staff members accepted the challenge to serve immediately by going into homes victimized by the floods and help families begin the rebuilding process.
Spending the days after the flood tearing up floors, moving furniture and cleaning what was salvageable throughout many homes, the relief efforts quickly became an eye-opening experience for many, including the volleyball team, which traveled to the town of Walker to assist the Denicola family, long-time supporters of LSU athletics.
“When we first walked into the house, we immediately saw all of the damage the water had done, and it was truly a reality check,” junior Cheyenne Wood wrote in a blog post.
While popping up floorboards in the Denicola home, volleyball director of operations Laura Whalen heard a clink hit the concrete and saw a ring lying on the floor. Whalen realized that she had found Dennis Denicola’s wedding ring, which had been missing for months, turning a daunting task of throwing away a family’s lifetime of memories into smiles and a glimpse of hope.
Down the road in Denham Springs, former Tiger baseball great Ben McDonald called coach Paul Mainieri, asking for help and some manpower to assist his mother-in-law, Margaret Smith Courville, whose home had been devastated by the historic flooding.
“It’s like a Godsend,” Courville told ESPN’s Kaylee Hartung. “There’s no words to describe for all of these boys to come in and do this. I don’t know what to say except thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
While assisting Courville, the team also traveled up and down the neighborhood, lending a hand to anyone and everyone who needed help cleaning out their homes to begin the rebuilding process.
Taking stress off of these homeowners for just one minute was what all of these athletes were striving to achieve, and that is exactly what members of the football team did when they were one of the many athletic programs to visit those displaced in a shelter at Celtic Studios in Baton Rouge.
“My heart is heavy because I just feel badly for them,” quarterback Brandon Harris explained. “I would be very upset if I knew my family was dealing with this right now. I lost my car, but at the same time it could have been a lot worse than that.
“I just feel for these people. It’s so sad what they are going through right now, and just to be able to come here and put a smile on someone’s face is important to me. I look forward to continue to build and be the person that I can be to put a smile on those people’s faces.”
Upon walking into Celtic Studios, there was a little girl around four years old dressed in purple and gold elated to wait for the players to sign a poster that she would be able to keep by her cot.
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There was an older man who walked over to give his sheer thanks to the team for taking time out of its fall schedule to warm the spirits of those who had lost all of their possessions by simply stopping by to say hello.
Then, there was a reminder of resiliency from a man who explained after embracing Leonard Fournette that he had a similar story to the star running back. He had been stranded in New Orleans 11 years ago after he and his family lost their home in Hurricane Katrina. They relocated to Baton Rouge to have all of their possessions taken from them in the recent flooding, but after describing his journey, he reminded everyone that the people of Louisiana are irrepressible.
In a state that was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and a city that was torn apart from the events of Summer 2016, that man’s smile when he was telling his story showed the strength and passion of the Louisiana community.
Coach Les Miles may have said it best when he stated, “These natural disasters don’t discriminate. They hammer everybody.”
This devastation is an opportunity for the community to come together as one and repair the damages.
LSU athletic teams are still out in the community helping to piece back the foundation that supports them at every game, match and meet.
It is going to take time to heal. There is still help needed and much work to do. However, Baton Rouge is home, and the LSU athletic family will continue to do what it can to piece the communities back together.
As the soccer team posted on its Twitter account, “We’re from six countries and 10 states, but we all love Baton Rouge.”