BATON ROUGE, LA – The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Baton Rouge, LA has been flooded with four to five feet of water. The entire city has been paralyzed and thousands have fled their flooded homes seeking refuge with friends and relatives at higher elevations. In some cases, the water has reached the rooftops of the homes.
The telecommunications continue to be extremely difficult. No one answered at the church simply because no one could enter or even to approach the building, because the whole area around around the church continues to be flooded.
The National Herald contacted Parish Council President Mike Rood who said “we couldn’t approach the church since [August 12) when the heavy rain started, but were finally able to do so after the weekend. “There are five feet of water in the church, including the Holy Sanctuary, and there is no electricity either.”
The damage “is difficult at this time to estimate, but from what was described to me, it is bad.”
When asked about the safety of the parishioners, Rood said “from what I know, all are safe. I don’t know about two who were living near the church, that entire area is flooded. The communications are difficult including the cell system because the cell towers have been flooded also.”
Describing the general situation, Rood noted that there are homes with a few inches of water in them, “but there are other homes that the water has reached the roof. In our home, the water has come to the porch, but it didn’t come in, we were lucky.”
According to Rood the parish of the Holy Trinity consists of about 35 to 40 families. The presiding priest is Rev. Anthony Monteleones, who is also a clinical social worker for the state of Louisiana.
Rood told TNH that “I will attempt to go to the church and take some photos and video.” He is a Greek-American through his mother, who is from the villages of Trianta and Kremasti on the island of Rhodes. Rood visits Greece often and was there in May. He said that the Holy Trinity in New Orleans offered to help in any way possible.