ABC News reports that since flooding began last week-over 30 inches of rain fell, and waters continue to rise-20,000 people have been rescued from their homes and at least 6 have died; 40,000 businesses and homes are without power, and 12,000 people are now living in shelters (some of which then also had to be evacuated due to rising waters). “Normally we operate offshore, so flying up in Baton Rouge [there are] additional obstacles that we’re not used to flying around every day – downed powerlines; there were some houses on fire; you have to stay above the treeline to stay safe”.
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About 5,000 people had been forced to sleep in shelters overnight around the state, said Marketa Walters, head of Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. The death toll rose Sunday when a man’s body was found washed up on a riverbank in Tangipahoa Parish.
The Tickfaw River, just south of the MS state line in Liverpool, La., was already at the highest level ever recorded, and that was at 9 a.m. Friday.
The worst of the rain is now over, but rivers continue to rise.
“This is a serious event”. The Comite and Tickfaw rivers also crested above record heights. Jeff Gaschel, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service, said some areas of the Amite River won’t crest until Monday.
L.t.j.g. Gottenberg said the weather presented an ongoing problem as well.
“We’re going to have standing water all over south Louisiana”, Edwards told CNN on Monday. He urged residents not to venture out because the sun did.
“Everybody got caught off-guard”, said Anthony “Ace” Cox, who started a Facebook group to help collect information about where people were stranded. “The simple fact of the matter here is we’re breaking records”, the governor told reporters on Sunday. The other hardest hit parishes include East Baton Rouge, St. Helena, Livingston, and Tangipahoa.
Baton Rouge took in 11 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, while Livingstone – which is roughy 30 miles away – was hit with 17 inches. While lowering the rescue swimmer onto a back porch of the second story, Lt. Hennebery said they were anxious about the wind. That rain will come by way of more “pop-up” variety of storms rather than from the system, though leftover moisture will increase rain chances, Destri said.
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. “My whole life savings is in that home”, she said. She said they were heading to a funeral in Slidell on Saturday morning when they became stranded on I-12.
“We woke up and the water kept on coming”, Hansford said. “We’ve been rescuing subdivisions”, he said. Lastly, FEMA is expected to open a number of recovery centers.
– Rescuers have taken out hundreds of pets as they go door-to-door searching for people.
State government offices in 27 southern Louisiana parishes will be closed Monday, State Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said.
(AP Photo/Max Becherer). A Coast Guard helicopter prepares to land as members of the Louisiana Army National Guard arrive at a rally point with rescued people from rising floodwater near Walker, La., after heavy rains inundated the region, Sunday, Aug.
The White House declared four parishes – equivalent to counties in other states – major disaster areas. Dozens of people remained in a shelter in Natchez.
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Edwards, too, has been evacuated, The Associated Press reports: The flooding has reached the governor’s mansion.
