The Lafayette station of the US Climate Reference Network recorded 22.89 inches of rain over 11 and 12 August 2016, an all-time record two-day total for that station. A city-parish public works estimate put more than 1,500 homes, businesses and other structures under water in the first week, and a ten-year retrospective later reported nearly 2,000 homes. Those are separate figures and are not added together.
Key takeaways
- The Lafayette station recorded 22.89 inches over 11 and 12 August 2016, an all-time record two-day total for that station.
- The record describes one station's rain. It is the scale of the event, not a measure of any single street or building.
- A city-parish public works estimate, made in the week of the flood, put more than 1,500 homes, businesses and other structures under water.
- A ten-year retrospective reported by a regional news outlet later gave nearly 2,000 homes. It counts homes, not all structures.
- The two home and structure figures measure different things at different times, and they must not be added together or quoted as one number.
- Address-level records, meaning readings and photographs for each building, are what a homeowner needs to explain a single loss.
What did the August 2016 rain measure at Lafayette?
The rain was measured at the Lafayette station of the US Climate Reference Network, run by the National Centers for Environmental Information. The station recorded 22.89 inches over 11 and 12 August 2016, which was an all-time record two-day total for that station.
The US Climate Reference Network is a network of stations maintained to measure precipitation and other weather conditions consistently over long periods. Its records are kept by the National Centers for Environmental Information, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A station's total describes the rain at that point, and it is the reference people use for the scale of an event.
The figure is useful for understanding how much water fell, and it is often quoted for the area. It is not a measure of how deep water stood on a particular street, and it does not show how the rain was split between the roofs, the yards and the drains. Those are questions for the readings in each building.
What does the parish estimate of homes and structures include?
A city-parish public works estimate made in the week of the flood put more than 1,500 homes, businesses and other structures under water across Lafayette Parish. The figure counts structures of several kinds, and it was an estimate made while the water was still being measured.
An estimate made during a flood is a snapshot. It is produced while crews are still reaching buildings, and the count changes as the water is measured more carefully. The estimate is useful for seeing the scale of the damage across the parish in the first week, and that is the purpose it serves.
Because the figure includes businesses and other structures as well as homes, it cannot be read as a count of houses. A reader who wants the number of homes needs the separate retrospective, and even that counts a different set of properties in a different way.
What did the ten-year retrospective report?
A regional news report, ten years after the flood, gave a retrospective figure of nearly 2,000 homes flooded in Lafayette Parish. It is a later count of homes, made ten years after the event.
Retrospectives look back and assemble the best available information over time, so they can differ from the figures made in the first days. The ten-year number is a homes count, which is different from the first-week count of homes, businesses and other structures. The two describe different categories and different points in time.
The retrospective should be cited with its date and its source, which is a regional news report. Anyone quoting it should say that it is a ten-year look back and not the figure from the week of the flood.
| Figure | What it counts | When it was made | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22.89 inches of rain | Rain at the Lafayette station, two days | Recorded 11 and 12 August 2016 | US Climate Reference Network, National Centers for Environmental Information |
| More than 1,500 | Homes, businesses and other structures under water | The week of the flood | City-parish public works estimate |
| Nearly 2,000 | Homes flooded in Lafayette Parish | Ten years after the flood | Regional news report |
Why are the figures not added together?
The figures measure different things. One counts structures in the first week, one counts homes ten years later, and one measures rain at a single station. Adding them would produce a number that no source reported and that means nothing precise.
A reader who sees the two home and structure figures side by side may be tempted to add them to get a bigger total. That total would double count some buildings, mix homes with businesses and combine a snapshot with a retrospective. None of the sources supports it.
The honest way to use the figures is one at a time, with its date, its category and its source attached. Each one tells a different part of the story of the 2016 flood, and together they describe its scale without claiming an exact total.
What do the figures mean for a single home?
The parish figures describe the event across the area. They do not describe any one home. A homeowner who wants to explain a loss needs the readings, photographs and logs made in that home, which show where the water went and how it was dried.
A home in Lafayette may have taken water that the parish figures never recorded individually, or it may have stayed dry while the next street flooded. The only way to know is to measure the building. The crew's first visit records the water and the readings, and the later visits show the drying.
Owners who kept photographs in the first days after the flood have the best record of what happened to their own property. Those photographs should be kept with the policy papers, the repair estimates and any letter from an insurer.
How can a homeowner use the records today?
Keep the parish and regional figures as background, with their dates and sources. Keep the building's own readings and photographs as the evidence for that building. When the two are presented together, label each one.
Background figures are useful for explaining why a storm of that size left so much damage across the area. They help a reader understand the scale of the event. They are not evidence about a single property, and a claim or a repair should not rely on them alone.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance accepts consumer complaints about claims, and the insurance guide on this site explains that route. An insurer's review of a claim turns on the facts of the property, which is why the building's records matter more than any parish total.
What is the difference between a station record and a flood count?
A station record is a measurement of rain at one point. A flood count is a tally of buildings that took water, made by people and organizations over time. The first measures weather and the second measures damage, and they should not be confused.
Each of these has a place in the record, and each answers a different question. A reader who mixes them up will misread the event. Keep the measures separate, label them, and use the one that answers the question in front of you.
- A rain total says how much water fell at a point over a set time
- A flood count says how many buildings were reached, and by what kind of water
- A retrospective says what later review found, with its own method and date
- A building's readings say what happened inside one property
How should the flood figures be cited in a claim or a repair file?
Cite each figure with its date, its category and its source, and do not present a parish total as a count for one building. A file that quotes the figures carefully is easier for an insurer or an adjuster to accept.
A claim file that opens with a parish-wide number invites the question of how that number applies to the property. The better opening is the building's own readings, followed by the background figures, each labeled. The adjuster can then see that the property's evidence stands on its own.
When a figure is repeated in a letter or a report, keep the wording exact. Write the rain total as a station measurement, the first-week count as an estimate that includes businesses and other structures, and the retrospective as a ten-year review that counts homes. The labels protect the file from being read as more than it says.
What does the difference between homes and structures mean in practice?
Homes are one category of building, and structures include businesses and other buildings. A parish estimate that counts both will be larger than a count of homes alone, and it cannot be used to say how many houses flooded.
Businesses, garages, outbuildings and other structures were part of the first-week estimate. A homeowner whose garage flooded was counted in that estimate, even though a home count would not include the garage as a home. The distinction is simple, but it is easy to lose when figures are repeated.
For a homeowner, the practical rule is to use the figure that matches the question. If the question is how many houses were affected, use the home count from the retrospective and date it. If the question is how much of the parish was under water in the first week, use the estimate and say that it covers structures of all kinds.
Frequently asked questions
How much rain fell in Lafayette in August 2016?
The Lafayette station of the US Climate Reference Network recorded 22.89 inches over 11 and 12 August 2016. That was an all-time record two-day total for that station, measured by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
How many homes flooded in Lafayette Parish?
There are two separate figures. A city-parish estimate from the week of the flood put more than 1,500 homes, businesses and other structures under water. A ten-year retrospective later reported nearly 2,000 homes. Use each with its date and source.
Can I add the two home counts together?
No. They measure different things at different times, and the sum would not match any source. Quote them separately, with their dates and categories.
Does the record mean my house flooded?
No. The parish figures describe the event across the area. Whether your house took water is shown by readings and photographs taken in your building.
Where can I see the rain record?
The record is held by the National Centers for Environmental Information, which runs the US Climate Reference Network. Search its records for the Lafayette station and the dates of 11 and 12 August 2016.
What should I keep for my own file?
Keep your own photographs, dated, the readings from each visit, the final report and any letter from an insurer. Those records describe your property, which the parish figures cannot do.
Sources
This guide is general information for Lafayette Parish homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.