The devastating flooding that has covered Louisiana is now the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc across the eastern seaboard four years ago.
The deluge washed over 20 parishes, leaving 13 people dead, roughly 40,000 houses underwater and more than 86,000 residents applying for federal disaster aid.
The school year was set to start in the midst of the flooding, but classes were canceled as the floodwaters swallowed large portions of region.
Student services, while able to assist in evacuations and transport evacuees from shelter to shelter, have been interrupted as a number of school buses were damaged by the devastation.
“We have experienced flooding to a great number of buses,” said Eric Johnson, administrative director of transportation for East Baton Rouge Public Schools. “Many of the flooded buses will probably be totaled.”
The Baton Rouge district contains approximately 90 schools. Johnson estimated that the buses that can be salvaged will cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 to repair “based on the severity of the flooding.”
Officials reported that an estimated 6.9 trillion gallons of rain was dumped on Louisiana between Aug. 9 and 14, with water levels rising as much as 6 feet in some areas.
On top of recovering the fleet, the district also has to determine how to accommodate for relocated students, who, as relief groups alleviate the overcrowded shelters and provide temporary housing, may be scattered throughout the area.
“Routing will need to be adjusted as soon as we know where they are and where they need to go,” Johnson said, adding that service may be further affected by the number of buses and drivers who “will not be able to return to work.”
