Baton Rouge. More rain Saturday was expected to swamp already soggy ground across Louisiana and other parts of the Gulf Coast where at least two people died and dozens had to be rescued from waist-high water surrounding their homes, FOX News announced.
Advertisement
A 68-year-old man died Friday after he slipped into a flooded ditch near the city of Zachary, said an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – As the floodwaters swallowed Lyn Gibson’s two-story home, she hacked away on a hole near the roof, desperately trying to get to safety.
“We have record levels of flooding along rivers and creeks”, he told reporters during a news conference, urging residents who have been advised to evacuate to leave their homes.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency on Friday.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert). Residents wade through floodwaters from heavy rains in the Chateau Wein Apartments in Baton Rouge, La., Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. Livingston has received 21.29 inches from late Thursday until early Saturday, he said. “We had to climb out of the window to get out”. His body has been recovered.
A second victim was found in St. Helena Parish, where crews pulled a body from a submerged pickup truck on Louisiana Highway 10.
This is third weather event to hit Louisiana and it’s affecting Interstate 55 to the Texas border.
A father and son in Tangipahoa were also swept away by rushing water Police Chief Darrell Martin.
“If you even think you need to evacuate, evacuate”.
“I have no doubt our state is experiencing an unprecedented event”, Richmond said in his letter addressed to Fugate.
The Gibsons’ home had taken in more than 2 feet of water in a March flood. The children managed to get out via an emergency exit, according to witnesses. Unfortunately, more rain is on the way as the storm continues on a westward track.
The Tickfaw River in Montpelier crested at record levels in multiple locations, rising almost 20 feet since midnight.
Intense rainfall and rising rivers are both flooding one area after another.
Baton Rouge Airport recorded 8.18 inches of rain Friday, the wettest August day on record since weather records began over 100 years ago.
A National Weather Service volunteer measured 17.09 inches of rain in Livingston, Louisiana since midnight – making the deluge a 1-in-1000-year rainfall for that location.
At least some homes saw flooding, though. Between 5 and 15 inches of rain have fallen in the parish. She says snakes were everywhere. The woman’s husband and mother-in-law clung to a tree for hours before they were rescued Saturday, Martin said. Several people were treated for injuries sustained when a tree fell on a vehicle.
He also said that flooding downstream in Ascension Parish is a threat, as those swollen rivers will be slow to drain into Lake Maurepas. “At the time of the investigation, there were several feet of water crossing LA 10 and Muse’s vehicle was not visible”.
Schools across the region have been closed. Meanwhile, flash flood warnings remain in effect for parts of Louisiana through the weekend.
Thousands of acres of Louisiana was flooded in 2011 to divert water from the flooded Mississippi River and to spare cities, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, that lie downstream.
Entergy Louisiana said more than 7,500 customers were without power Friday night.
The National Weather Service warned of “significant flash flooding” through the weekend as the weather pattern moves north. The office moved its operations to a state police facility farther north.
The severe weather comes five months after March flooding in Louisiana and MS that left at least four dead and thousands of homes damaged.
Advertisement
John Bel Edwards stressed to residents that they should evacuate if they are asked and stay off roadways that are impassable due to water.
