Louisiana, 1997

Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997

April 5, 1997 · NWS SHV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Shreveport radar (KSHV), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Caddo

When
April 5, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Caddo County, Shreveport
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
32.580, -93.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A man was found dead after his car stalled in high water. He left the vehicle then disappeared when he stepped into a drainage ditch. His body was discovered several miles downstream. The road was barricaded due to flooding by the fire department and the individual was warned by the fire department not to drive into the flooded roadway. He ignored the warning and drove around the barricade.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Caddo1997-04-0522MaleIn WaterDirect

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Louisiana in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, April 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5604135.