NEW ORLEANS — By and large it seems that Sunday’s extreme weather was, more or less, a freak of nature, for lack of a better term.
On Sunday, a heavy band of rainstorms moved through the metro area. Some places like St. Bernard Parish saw almost five inches of rain, the worst of which came down before the sun rose. In New Orleans, video from the Palmetto Canal shows what looks like rapids rushing as drainage pumps kicked into high gear.
While it was irritating for thousands of people around town, many say it could've been worse.
In Mid-City near Jesuit High School, the worst of the rain happened between 5 and 6 a.m., but unlike Aug. 5, 2017, this time it was hit or miss where flooding happened.
"Yesterday, there were parts of Mid-City that didn't have anything, and then there's literally cars, like, in the middle of the street abandoned. Water inside the car, all the way to the windows,” said Charles Machicote, who lives in the neighborhood.
Bill Willock, who works at Wakin' Bakin' on Banks Street, said water came close to creeping inside, but they lucked out this time.
Still, he said his business took a hit after they had to wait for water to drain so employees could get there to serve the Mother's Day brunch crowd.
Willock said he had a hard time getting to work from his home in the 7th Ward.
"I haven't seen that much water in that neighborhood standing for that long in the entire time I lived there, including that last previous heavy August rains we got," he said.
Comparing events from August 5, 2017 to yesterday's, however, is apples and oranges.
While there were some similarities between Sunday and August 5, Eyewitness News Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum said yesterday was a predicted storm plus a cool front that came in.
"Those storms on August 5 developed right by the city and didn't move. And it just flooded out. We got five to eight inches of rain," Nussbaum said.
The Sewerage and Water Board says one pump went out at the drainage pump station near I-610 and Marconi Drive. That happened after it lost Entergy power to the station, officials said.
Utility officials said that happened around 5 a.m. and the pump was back running by 6 a.m., about the time the worst of the rain was falling.
After it all, however, residents like Mike Busic wonder the cost of living in their favorite neighborhood.
"I love Mid-City, but the flooding's getting ridiculous. I've heard people say they feel like they can't live here anymore because they have to do something to their car or to their house or something, consistently," Busic said.