ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. — An estimated 38 homes experienced flooding due to intense overnight storms in St. Charles Parish.
Darren Vinnet woke up around 3 a.m. to an alarm warning him that a Flash Flood warning had been declared.
“I saw water dripping from different sides of the room so I knew that there was a problem,I just didn't know how bad it was,” Vinnet said. “Looked outside and we had a little river out there."
He estimated about 3-inches seeped into his home. That’s more than enough to cause major damage.
“It hasn’t been this bad since, ’95,” Vinnet said. “It wasn’t this bad for me for Katrina.”
Next door, Johnathan Nazarian is also drying out his home.
"It was pouring, it was torrential, there were waves,” he said.
Nazarian spent this morning ripping out carpet, throwing away soaked items and next up is working with his insurance company.
"The sheet rock, we're probably going to have to cut it out. They recommend four feet all the way around because of the moisture that would go up,” he said. “All the flooring aside from the kitchen is going to have to be replaced."
Unlike previous flooding events, the country is in the midst of a federal closure. Some we talked with are worried about how soon FEMA could handle their flood insurance claims as a result.
“We’re not sure how this is going to play out,” one woman tossing out debris told us.
Officials with St. Charles Parish tell us claims should not be affected and are still conducting their own survey of the damage.
Cleanup will likely continue for days and even though this is a rough way for some to ring in the New Year, families like Vinnett’s are optimistic.