They know the drill: Local people worked to prepare for Cristobal

Berwick resident Kevin Lewis wasn’t taking any chances with Tropical Storm Cristobal.
The Hebert Street resident’s home flooded twice last year in a short time due to rain events “like we’ve never had before.”
He said he flooded in April 2019 before again flooding in June even worse with about 3-4 inches of water in every room.
“One day after they had finished my house (repairs) from the first flood, we flooded again,” Lewis said.
Saturday morning, he was at the town of Berwick sandbag location under the U.S. 90 bridge loading his truck bed with bags to protect his home from the rain expected from Tropical Storm Cristobal.
“My plan this time is I’m wrapping the house,” Lewis said. “I’m going all the way around the house, three sandbags high, and I’m going to leave them there the remainder of hurricane season. This back bending, it takes its toll.”
As for the storm, Lewis said it presents a lot of unknowns.
“It’s the unknown, because they’re not sure where it’s going to hit,” he said. “You don’t know how much the water’s going to come, and the Atchafalaya’s already high. I’m going to just prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
Nearby on Hogan Street, resident Josh Montgomery placed sandbags outside areas of his home where flooding occurred last year due to inclement weather.
“We took in a little bit of water last year, and we got sandbags to hopefully keep that from happening again,” he said.
Montgomery said his expectations for the storm are rain and down limbs due to wind.
“I figure there’s going to be a good bit of rain, but the risk of getting it in your house, hopefully it doesn’t happen, but I’m prepared for it,” Montgomery said.
In Lower St. Martin Parish, Baton Rouge resident Matt Burns, who owns a camp on Landry Lane, said he didn’t expect any significant problems on his property or water to rise that high.
“I figure if we didn’t flood last year (during the high water event), we’re probably not going to flood this year,” he said while fishing Saturday.
Burns said his preparations would consist of securing and picking up some furniture outside his camp.