Weekly wrap-up: Louisiana flooding forces Katrina survivors out of their homes; Blue Cut fire rages in California

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

August 19,2016; 7:20PM,EDT

 

 

Thousands of people across Louisiana were forced to leave their homes this week as feet of rain caused widespread flooding across the state.
The southern half of the state experienced the worst of the flooding with some areas receiving over 30 inches of rain in a two-day period. This accounts for nearly half of the rain that typically falls in an entire year in this part of the country.
This flooding has been so extensive that the Red Cross has called this event the "worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy."
More than a dozen people were killed.
This round of flooding was not the first evacuation experience for some. Several people who survived Hurricane Katrina were forced to abandon their homes amid the historic flooding.
"It's all gone again," Jeannique Branche, 34, of Baton Rouge told NOLA.com.
She survived Hurricane Katrina and relocated to Baton Rouge, where she lived in a second-story apartment.
"Now I've lost everything again," she said.
In this aerial photo over Hammond, La., flooded homes are seen off of LA-1064 after heavy rains inundated the region, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Max Becherer)
Brynetta Smith, 28, fled New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward before Katrina hit more than a decade ago. She was forced to evacuate her home for the second time this week.
"Every second of this, it's coming back to me," Smith told NOLA.com. "I'm reliving 11 years ago. It's really devastating. I'm a Katrina survivor. Now it's happening again.
On the other side of the country, thousands were forced out of their homes due to a raging wildfire.
Flames from a wildfire rise above a Cal Fire vehicle in Keenbrook, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
On Tuesday afternoon, a fire broke out in the mountains east of Los Angeles and quickly consumed thousands of acres of land. Major highways were shut down and entire communities were ordered to evacuate due to the rapid expansion of the fire.
Some people were only given minutes to evacuate, grabbing whatever they could from their homes before fleeing to safety, the Associated Press reported.
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Wet weather led to more delays in Rio this week.
Heavy rain and strong winds forced some of the track and field events to be delayed. A wildfire burning near Rio also threatened the mountain biking venue and ash spread over the women's field hockey stadium.
Rounds of thunderstorms moved through the northeastern United States around the middle of the week.
Lightning struck near New York City on Wednesday evening. (Photo/Reed Timmer)
The skies lit up over New York City on Wednesday evening as lightning from a nearby thunderstorm flashed over the city. One of the lightning bolts struck the Statue of Liberty, but did not damage the monument. Later that night, thunderstorms blew through Baltimore and Washington, D.C., leading to more than 32,000 power outages in the region.