LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- With everything that has happened in Texas due to the severe flash floods, LCG wants to remind folks in Lafayette Parish that their local government is ready and prepared.

Chad Sonnier, Director of the Lafayette Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, explained key points of the newly released plan.

Sonnier acknowledges the concerns of residents about flooding. He suggests the risk of flash flooding, similar to the significant damage and loss of life in Texas, is less likely to occur in Lafayette Parish. Even so, local governments must be prepared regardless of how unlikely it may seem.

"The Vermilion is flatter. We don't have water that comes down with the momentum like it does in the Hill Country. So, we are fortunate for that fact," Sonnier said.

As of Wednesday, in Texas, reports show some 161 people remain unaccounted for. Sonnier says the parish now has a reunification plan to help locate missing individuals. Hospitals will be able to access the information.

"If we have multiple instances of casualties like that, such as they did in Texas, we have one location where people and family members can go and find information on their loved ones, not only in person but also digitally. If someone is visiting from out of town, several people may have been from Louisiana who went to the camp in Texas. They can get online, put in information about their loved one they're looking for, and that information is shared with hospitals in the area," Sonnier stated.

Sonnier reminds residents that the rising levels of the Vermilion River are monitored by a gauge system.

"We also have gauges, which they didn't have the luxury of having. We have flood gauges that alert us whenever it gets to a certain height, and we can shut down some gates in the Vermilion River to divert the water into the basin. So, we have a lot of advantages that they didn't have over there in Texas," Sonnier added.

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