Homes flooded at Bundick Lake - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Homes flooded at Bundick Lake

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By Theresa Schmidt - bio | email

People at Bundick Lake are also struggling with flooding and it may get worse before it gets better.  The water has gone down several feet. Still there are homes with water in them and others cleaning up. And officials fear the count of flooded homes may rise.

 Normally the spillway is peaceful and serene but it looks like white water rapids right now. Some residents like Lillian Gaskins had to travel by boat until their roads became passable. "There are several houses that have taken on water and to my knowledge those people are not back yet. I haven't really made contact with them. We've just been out and about today because we don't want to push any water into people's houses and such so we've pretty much stayed inside to ourselves, off the roads. But now that they're opening the roads back up it's getting a lot better. Three bridges on 113 I heard is still over the road."

Deputies are patrolling areas where some people left for higher ground to keep property safe Deputy Dale Sharp says they've been working round the clock.  "We've had four to five boats operating on the lake itself and on the west side of the parish so we've done numerous water rescues, people getting out of the houses, people that tried to cross in the high water and got trapped inside their vehicles. We've been doing some swift water recovery on that type of situation."

At last word about 37 homes had water in them and law enforcement officials fear that number will rise to 65. Seventy five year old Irene Ducharme left for higher ground. When she returned home she found about four inches of water inside. "The damage was bad. I have oak floors in my living room, kitchen and dining room. The other rooms are carpet and they're all flooded."

She's trying to dry things out and waiting to see if the floors buckle former police juror Merlin Schales it's the worst flooding in years. "This one was the worst since 1982. We had more water in the lake in 1982 than we did this time but this one came close."

He says people here are going to need a lot of help cleaning up along with supplies and dehumidifiers. Residents with damage are asked to contact the Beauregard Sheriff's office provide their name and address.  The information will be forwarded to the Red Cross which is expected to be in Beauregard parish this weekend assessing damage and providing other help.