Surge devastates parts of northshore

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http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/083005/new_surge001.shtml

By SANDY DAVIS
[e-mail]
Advocate staff writer


LACOMBE -- A 15-to 20-foot tidal surge swept over the northeast shoreline of Lake Ponchartrain at the tail end of Hurricane Katrina on Monday, devastating portions of Slidell, Lacombe and Mandeville.

"I pray to God that everyone made it through this nightmare safely," said Lacombe Alderman Joe Impastato. "But we won't know the answer to that until some of the roads are cleared and the flood waters go down."

Emergency workers in boats plucked residents off rooftops after water rushed into their homes leaving them trapped.

Rain, along with the tidal surge, flooded homes and roads while scores of giant pine and oak trees toppled by the hurricane blocked nearly every road in and out of the Northshore area.

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