SLIDELL, La. — Between six and eight inches of rain falling in about three hours from what finally became Tropical Storm Claudette has caused flooding on the major roadway of Gause Blvd. and other streets in Slidell, causing the police department to ask people to stay at home.
The system that has been followed for nearly two weeks was designated as Tropical Storm Claudette in the Hurricane Center's 4 a.m. update Saturday.
Some Slidell residents told WWLTV's Asha Staples that rain pounded the area for several hours, saying in part that they haven't seen flooding like Claduette's since Katrina.
"It's awfully early (in Hurricane Season) for this to be happening," a Slidell man told Staples. "This was a Tropical Storm? I don't know how much rain it dropped, but it dropped it fast."
Ryan Stiller and Alton Dillon said they woke up Saturday morning to a flooded mess on their street, and in their home.
"I've seen flooding down the street, but not quite as bad as it is right now," Dillon said.
Stiller said the water seemed like it wouldn't stop coming into his home. He's lived there for two years.
"My wife came waking me up around 1:30 in the morning, and we had about three feet of water in the street," Stiller said. "I was taking on water very fast, and it ended up being about two inches of water in my house."
He said his neighborhood took a beating from the rain for nearly six hours. It took another 6 hours before the water started to recede, giving him and many of his neighbors the green light to start their cleaning process.
"Well, lesson learned. I've learned to always be prepared for hurricane season. Get sandbags, lots of towels and have a wet, dry vac," Stiller said laughing.
On Hayes Road, Randy Bray said he didn't expect the storm to be as impactful as it was.
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be this bad. I mean, a big rain — it comes up. It doesn't get as bad as last night. That was kind of unusual," Randy Bray said.
"It's not as bad as we've seen it in the past, but it's never good," Irene Bray said. "It's never good. You have to start your life over again and decide, you know, 'Is this where I want to stay?"
As for Dillon, he has another plan.
"I'm not even going to worry about it. You know, if I have to go up 50 miles and turn around to come back, I will," Dillon said.
Neighbors nearby said they hope Tropical Storm Claudette won't be a preview of how active Hurricane Season will be in 2021.
St. Tammany Parish officials said we can't always predict what Mother Nature will do, but we can always be prepared.
Viewer videos showed flooding in several areas of Slidell, including along parts of Military Road, especially near Ranch Road; on Breckenridge Drive and in the Cross Gates subdivision. The videos showed a few inches of water inside of homes, soaking carpets. Additional videos outside showed nearly impassable roads and water getting up as high as people's knees.
"The best-case scenario is for folks to stay home," Michael Vinsanau, a St. Tammany Parish government spokesperson said. "We don't want people driving through high water. Your cars can stall out, or you could push a wake into people's homes."
Several stalled-out cars were seen on Gause Blvd. and the exit to Gause Blvd., some were being pushed out of the roadway.
"We are getting reports of widespread flooding all across the city," said a post by the police on their Facebook Page. "Our officers are doing everything they can to respond to calls. We are calling in additional resources and deploying high water vehicles. Please stay in place and do not attempt to drive around at this time. The conditions are dangerous on our roadways."
Several viewers have reported street flooding in Slidell and posted videos to our comment section.
Story continues under video and gallery
Flooding on Military Road in Slidell - Video: Austin Naulty
Slidell flooding from PTC-3
The videos show water being up to the knees of some people who have ventured out. Images show Gause Blvd. with several inches, if not a couple of feet of water in the street. Some vehicles have been passing, but slowly and creating some wakes as they go by.
Anyone with video they have safely shot and can share to our site, you can text it to 504-529-4444.