Merced woman whose family was displaced by Katrina dealing with flood waters again in Louisiana

Dale Yurong Image
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Merced woman whose family was displaced by Katrina dealing with flood waters again in Louisiana
A Merced woman whose family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but moved back to Louisiana, is now dealing with severe flooding once again.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Merced woman whose family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but moved back to Louisiana, is now dealing with severe flooding once again. Rachel Goode said the flooded images we see out of Louisiana don't tell the whole picture.

Goode does not believe aid workers or the government understands the scope of the damage and how many families actually need assistance.

"Hurricanes, they have a name so they get national attention. This is just a huge storm, just sat on top of us for days. It continued to rain and rain and rain. It didn't have a name, so it's not getting the attention."

Goode is 10 weeks pregnant and she and her husband returned to their home outside Lafayette-- to begin to pull out flooring and baseboard which was flooded. But a flash flood warning was in effect in her neighborhood.

"There is still some floodwater I had to drive through," she said. "Mainly you see cars stuck in the ditch that had got stuck in water."

Her parents Kenny and Tammy Flamming moved the family back to Merced after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but later returned to Louisiana. Rachel is the youngest of four sisters. She still has aunts, uncles, and cousins in the North Valley.

Goode's family was also flooded out during Hurricane Isaac in 2012. This storm might not have attained hurricane status but she said, the damage is extensive in many areas aid workers have not been able to reach.

"We're slowly but surely declaring certain parishes national disasters, but it needs to happen faster. There're people who have it way worse than us."

Goode isn't especially upbeat on her birthday because she said Katrina hit on her 13th birthday and Isaac made landfall on her birthday as well.

Copyright © 2024 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.