Here is a selection of images to illustrate the impact of the floods. He wasn’t sure how many people from his town had fled to shelters, but he estimated that 75% of Ascension Parish had been hit by the flooding, he said. The Baton Rouge area remains under a flood watch until 4 p.m. Monday, but Efferson said it likely will be extended.
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Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters at a news conference that about 20,000 people had been rescued from their homes and more than 10,000 people were in shelters after a slow-moving tropical storm system dumped almost 2 feet of rain on southern Louisiana.
A WAFB video depicting the rescue of a woman and her dog from their sinking auto has gone viral and made national news.
Alan Johns gives Chanvuthea Keo a ride in his canoe as he makes his way home through flooded streets in Denham Springs.
Eight additional parishes had been approved for inclusion in the federal disaster declaration, bringing the total to 20, Edwards said. Ann Chapman from the Louisiana State Animal Response Team is pictured here carrying a dog she helped rescue from flood waters in Baton Rouge.
(AP Photo/Max Becherer). Raymond Lieteau cleans his flood damaged home in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016.
Historic rain is causing widespread flooding in Louisiana that has claimed at least seven lives and left around 20,000 people stranded, according to ABC News.
The National Weather Service says the rivers in the Baton Rouge area have started to fall, but still remain above flood stage setting record levels over the weekend.
It’s leading to a great deal of frustration for the so-called “Cajun Navy” of volunteers trying to help.
“I don’t know we have a good handle on the number of people who are missing”, Edwards said.
“We are not in control as far as how fast these floodwaters will recede, and in fact they are still going up in some places”, he said, according to USA Today.
The Louisiana National Guard reported that its soldiers rescued almost 500 people and 61 pets in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday, by boat, helicopter and high-water (high-clearance) vehicles.
In Tangipahoa Parish, Parish President Robby Miller said at least 7,500 homes had flood damage, meaning they took on anywhere from an inch of water to water up to the roof.
“Nobody is going to be forgotten and we’re going work around the clock”, Mr Edwards said, calling the disaster a “historic flooding event”. But despite nearly two feet of water surrounding his home, Mitchell believes he and his family are among “the lucky ones” who will avoid major suffering.
The area that has been hit the hardest is Ascension Parish where nearly a third of all homes have been damaged after floodwater overtopped a levee along the Amite River, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate.
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“I can’t live without her pictures”.
