More than 10,000 people were in shelters Sunday, according to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. – More than 20,000 people have been rescued after massive floods swept across Louisiana, and officials warned Sunday that even though the rain had subsided, dangers loomed. Authorities worked throughout Sunday to rescue people from cars stranded on a miles-long stretch of Interstate 12.
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Steele said the Louisiana National Guard alone had rescued more than 3,000 people from floodwaters as of midnight, and that number was bound to continue rising Sunday.
President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in the hard-hit parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa, freeing up federal funding for flood-related assistance. In Livingston, more than 1,000 homes have been flooding, along with 200 in St. Helena Parish, and 500 or more in Tangipahoa Parish.
Meteorologist Ken Graham of the National Weather Service said catastrophic rains are “extremely tough” to forecast.
A Louisiana television station captured dramatic footage of a woman and her dog being rescued from floodwaters Saturday.
A man died Friday after slipping into a flooded ditch near the city of Zachary, said East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks, who identified the victim as William Mayfield, 68. “The simple fact of the matter here is we’re breaking records”, the governor told reporters on Sunday.
Louisiana State Police Colonel Michael Edmonson said helicopters were transporting food and water to those still trapped by floods.
The rainfall battered the parishes around Baton Rouge and is expected to move west, he said at a news conference Saturday.
The rescued woman then begged for him to get her dog. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, alone, floated out on boats to collect 1,229 persons in East Baton Rouge Parish from the high water and another 826 people in Lafayette Parish – that doesn’t include rescues conducted by other agencies. Coast Guard aircrews have rescued more than 118 people and assisted more than 766 people in distress. Flooding was also expected beginning Tuesday on the Meramec River at Pacific, Eureka, Valley Park and Arnold. The couple had been visiting family in Baton Rouge when the flooding started. “We’ve got toilet paper, paper towels, anything that can help them rebuild their households”, said Hubert. Her mother and husband were rescued. The woman, her husband and the woman’s mother-in-law were driving on a state highway Friday when their auto was swept off the road. Ankle-deep water filled his home; he said he hopes an insurance payout will help replace the floors.
Police Chief Darrell Martin told CNN that the man’s son who was also in the vehicle has been located.
Officials are asking people to stay out of flood areas in south Louisiana while they help people escape unprecedented flooding.
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The Comite River just east of Baton Rouge on Monday morning dropped almost 2 feet from the 34.2-feet level over the weekend. As the waters rise there are places where roads are going to be underwater and they may not be marked as such and they are going to be risky. “Each year it just gets worse, but for us, this is just more of an inconvenience”.
