By MELISSA PEACOCK

LAPLACE – Drains were full and standing water remained on many streets and driveways. Was St. John the Baptist Parish ready for another round of storm-related flooding?

Residents in the River Forest subdivision said “no.”

As Hurricane Lili threatened Wednesday afternoon to make landfall in south Louisiana, residents, still recovering from the effects of Tropical Storm Isidore, scrambled to prepare for the Category Four storm.

Residents of the lakeside community were trapped in homes for three days last week during Isidore. With more than three feet of water in streets and driveways, residents had only one way into and out of the subdivision – by boat.

Hurricane Lili was expected to bring more rain and wind into the area, a combination resident Jan Childress said the community was not ready for. The hurricane packed wind speeds Wednesday of more than 120 miles per hour.

“The drains are still full,” Childress said. “The streets are going to flood whether or not the hurricane hits here.”

Childress, a mother of two, said she was not sure she and her family were willing to try to ride out another storm in the subdivision. Wednesday the family planned to place sandbags around the residence. Evacuation was still a possibility.

The worst part of being stuck in the development by Isidore was the isolation from the outside world, Childress said.

“No one came from the parish to check on us while we were stranded for three days,” Childress said. “The only time anyone came out was on Friday when I called because a tree was in the road.”

The truck sent by the parish to remove the tree could not get into the community and was forced to retreat. Water covered the tires of the truck and lapped at the hood.

“I don’t want Lili to come at all. If you have a medical emergency you can not get in or out,” she said.

Childress and her family said parish council members and Parish President Nickie Monica knew how serious the drainage problems were in the subdivision. Even without coastal flooding, streets in the development are prone to flooding.

Childress said poor road construction, inadequate drains and a full pond were to blame for the flooding.

“The drainage is very poor,” Childress said. “Our streets are not the normal width. It should never have been passed. There is a dip (in the road) next to a drain.”

Neighbor Carmen Early said the closest drain to her house is at least a half a block away.

“I want to emphasize the need for drains back here – and a lot of drains,” Early said. “The ones we do have are full of sand because of building.”

Another big problem for the subdivision is a pump on Airline Highway. Residents believe that pump is causing increased flooding in the subdivision. Childress and Early said the pump is putting water into a retention pond that is already full.

“Where did they think that water was going to go?” Early said. “The pump was shut down by request. Otherwise they would not have turned it off.”

But later residents found that the pump had again been turned on, causing more problems in the flooded neighborhoods of River Forest.

“I am on vacation and, if I still have a home, I am taking my photos to the parish next week,” Early said. “We had three or four feet of water and that water does not go down. Where were our officials? Did they go out of town or something?”

Childress, Early and other residents in the River Forest subdivision said they will remember the officials that did not visit River Forest during or in the days following the storm at election time. For now, they are busy boarding up their homes.

“There are so many people building beautiful homes out here,” Early said. “They (parish officials) should be proud. But everything is being allowed to deteriorate out here. Someday it may be a ghost town.”

Early spent Wednesday night boarding up her house and packing her belongings. She is prepared to go to Alabama to escape the flood waters.

Civil Defense was still monitoring waters throughout the parish Wednesday night, a Civil Defense spokeswoman said. Cancellation of some area schools was advised.

“All parishes have been following emergency preparations,” she said. “All we can do now is monitor the water levels and close the roads when it becomes necessary.”