Louisiana Army National Guard members rescue people from rising waters near Walker on Sunday.
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After four days of devastating flooding, more than 20,000 people have been rescued from homes in southern Louisiana and at least six people have died.
Residents line up on Providence Boulevard in Hammond, La., where flood waters inundated their homes after heavy rains in the region Saturday.
“I’m still asking people to be patient”. More than 1,500 motorists stranded by high water on I-12 near Covington were all rescued by Sunday night, some after spending more than 24 hours on the highway. People at the church used boats and big trucks to rescue others and bring them to the church, where helicopters started picking them up and flying them to safety Sunday.
National Guard soldiers in high-water vehicles, boats and helicopters helped rescue people, as did Good Samaritans.
The US president’s orders make federal aid available in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St Helena and Tangipahoa.
The governor said at least two deaths have been confirmed and searches are being carried out.
She couldn’t say how many homes and businesses in Ascension were affected by the flooding, but said a lot of them were in some way.
As the weather turned sunny on Sunday, Edwards and other officials noted that concerns about the impact of floodwaters had not diminished.
– More than 11,000: The number of people staying in shelters. “It was an absolute act of God”. “We saw a couple of people who were ill taken away”, she said. A Greyhound bus traveling from Memphis, Tennessee, to Baton Rouge was diverted to a shelter because of flooded roadways.
“The simple fact is we are breaking records”, Edwards said. “We’re able-bodied. This can get our mind off things”. “I don’t know how long that is going to last because it’s getting kind of hot”, she said. Another hard-hit area, Livingston, got almost 22 inches over the same stretch.
In southwest Mississippi, Leroy Hansford, his wife and stepson were among those rescued near Gloster, which had more than 14 inches of rain, when the nearby Beaver Creek rose quickly overnight.
In an updated forecast discussion Monday, the National Weather Service said the historic river flooding continues over areas between Baton Rouge and Lake Maurepas.
Unlike in a hurricane, when shelters are established well in advance by parish governments and the Red Cross when the threat becomes obvious, shelters for those driven from their homes by the flooding were set up more haphazardly by parish officials.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, I-12 Northbound was finally opened after 28 hours.
Spokesman Bob Johannessen said Sunday night the shelter is for people with special medical conditions.
Marc and Crystal Matherne and their three children loaded up their cars with their three dogs and drove out of their flooded Baton Rouge neighborhood Sunday before the water got too deep to pass.
Kelly and others planned to spend the night in Ragland’s home.
The rainfall at several reporting stations broke records, the agency said, as did some cresting rivers.
“This is the worst it’s been, ever”, Mitchell said.
State government offices in 27 southern Louisiana parishes will be closed Monday, State Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said.
“These rivers won’t recede below their banks for a few days, and it will take several days for waters to recede”, National Weather Service hydrologist Jeff Gaschel told USA TODAY.
Jared Serigne of St. Bernard Parish helped organize volunteer efforts involving roughly 70 experienced boaters who rescued hundreds of people from flooded communities such as Monticello, St. Amant and Port Vincent. The August average is 5.82 inches, he said.
“We had to come up with some unique ideas as a crew”, Lt.j.g Gottenberg said.
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Despite sunny skies on Monday morning, more severe storms from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley were expected later in the day and week, potentially complicating relief efforts in the state.
