IBERIA PARISH, La. (KLFY) Heavy downpours Tuesday caused nearly a foot of flash flood water in areas of Iberia Parish. 

“There was severe water all over Iberia Parish. We had a lot of houses and a lot of calls. I mean a lot of calls,” Iberia Parish President Larry Richard said. 

Some areas got over 6 inches of water in just two hours, but Richard say it’s not exactly an uncommon problem in Iberia Parish.

“We’ve got some very high prone flooding areas in Iberia Parish, very high. Iberia Parish is in the Gulf of Mexico, and you have to think about where we’re at. Iberia Parish is right on the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

Richard says flash flooding isn’t unusual, though Tuesday’s flash floods were worse than what most residents are used to.

“One of the problems we had yesterday with the rain, of course we had six inches of rain in two hours, but we also had the tide coming in. When the tide is coming in, it’s just bringing in more water with no rain, so you have to compile the rain on today of that and that water that’s coming in from the tide, you can have some problems,” he told News Ten.

Richard says though it’s a problem, they can mitigate the damage, making sure areas have good drainage canals and keeping roadside ditches clean to the water can drain as quickly as possible.

“You have to be adaptable to take care of yourself. The people of Iberia Parish have gone through this. They live here, so we know that we have certain areas of the parish where we have a lot of rain,” he said.

Richard says every year, they accept applications from residents whose homes are prone to flooding. Those applicants can have their homes raised by three to five feet.