Karen Bryant, along with her husband Mark, owns the All Premier Insurance Agency, an independent agency in Denham Springs, La., site of much flooding in recent weeks. In addition to helping her clients cope with the aftermath of the flooding, Bryant and her family are also flood survivors. Her single-story home had five feet of water in it, and it’s a total loss — a story similar to those of her clients.

“I think a flood is worse than a fire,” says Bryant. “With a fire, everything is destroyed, but with a flood, you can see what’s lost and damaged beyond repair. It looked as though a demon had been through my house, and it reminds us that we’re not really in control, as much as we’d like to think otherwise.”

Denham Springs is a community of about 10,000, within easy commuting distance of Baton Rouge and with a top 10 school district. As the Amite River rose, eventually reaching its record high of 46.2 feet, 90% of the town flooded, causing residents to evacuate in droves. Bryant was vacationing in Memphis, Tenn., when the waters began to pour in, and the first warning she received was from a client who called to let her know he would be filing a claim.

Harrowing experience

Bryant’s drive home was a harrowing one, with the interstate flooded out in places. She and her husband watched the water at their house rise by 12 inches an hour. They then headed for her parents’ home, only to be followed by rising water everywhere she went to escape. “I felt as though the water was chasing us,” she recalls. She finally got her parents to safety, and her husband went out to join the volunteers with trucks and boats known as the “Cajun Navy.” Bryant didn’t hear from him for two days because cell service was unavailable in most areas.