He said the Baton Rouge area could see up to a half-inch of rain Monday.
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Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for several counties in his state as it also battled the heavy rainfall. The Mermentau (MUR’-mehn-taw) River, a source of the flooding in Acadia, isn’t forecast to crest until Thursday.
Floodwaters reached the “Open” sign on his rented office, and the 24-year-old fears his business, Louisiana Direct Buy, is now closed for good.
– 12 percent: The portion of homes in hard-hit Baton Rouge covered by flood insurance; in Lafayette, which has also been hammered, the number is 14 percent. Items that are needed include diapers, baby formula, canned foods, towels and blankets.
Four people have been reported dead, said Devin George, the state registrar for vital records, earlier Sunday. A 58-year-old man was discovered in the woods near Millar Estates.
They gathered up their dogs and a few bags of belongings and fled out the back door, eventually wading through waist-deep water to a passing National Guard truck – joining the more than 20,000 people rescued from their homes in a still-growing tragedy across southern Louisiana. “It is ongoing. It is not over”, the governor said Sunday.
While some areas were entering recovery mode, the governor warned new places downstream could see flooding.
St. James Parish authorities say in an update on the sheriff’s office website that there were no evacuations or shelters as of Tuesday morning. Even more people were staying in private shelters like churches.
Louisiana’s governor says at least 40,000 homes were damaged by the historic floods in the southern part of the state. Over 30,000 people have been rescued since Friday, with more being brought to safety by the hour.
The disaster has even drawn the attention of deep-pocketed celebrities.
At least eight people have died in the floods, which started Friday when a torrent of about 2 feet of rain inundated the state. Eleven deaths have been attributed to the storm.
A seventh body was pulled from floodwaters Monday, said Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“Some areas recorded more than 25 inches of rain over a 72-hour period”, Fleming reports.
Residents will continue going back to their homes Wednesday, assessing damage and getting to work on repairs, in areas where the waters have receded enough.
David Key saw his house in Prairieville for the first time Tuesday morning. There were fish and thousands of spiders, and mold had started to grow.
“I went over to one of my friend’s house and she was like, it’s going to be a state of emergency”, Stewart recalled.
Key and his wife spent most of the weekend putting as much of the contents of their house into the second floor and setting furniture up on concrete blocks.
Another eight parishes have been added to Louisiana’s federal disaster declaration, boosting the number of parishes available for federal aid to 12. Governor John Bel Edwards declared a curfew for the capital city starting on Tuesday night from 10pm to 6am. Those parishes are mostly in south central Louisiana.
Torrential rains have caused widespread flooding in parts of southern Louisiana.
“The fact that so many people in Louisiana have been forced out of their own homes this week is heartbreaking”, said musician Taylor Swift, who told the Associated Press she’s donating $1 million to relief efforts. The parish has a population of about 138,000 people.
Forecasts Thursday were for 8 inches of rain with higher totals expected in some areas but again, Graham emphasized that forecasting exactly how much rain is going to fall is almost impossible – “especially for a historic event”.
Authorities worked throughout Sunday to rescue people from cars stranded on a miles-long stretch of Interstate 12.
Seven deaths have been attributed to the flooding in south Louisiana. In Ascension Parish, some small towns were already inundated.
The Louisiana Department of Health has opened a special needs shelter in the field house on the LSU campus for those affected by the flooding in the Baton Rouge area. “Doug Cain from the Louisiana State Police”.
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Craig Fugate will meet with Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday to discuss the situation. Flood stage is 20 feet. People have filled sandbags to protect their houses, bracing for the worst as high water flows toward the Gulf of Mexico. It’s hitting areas no one expected to be submerged. The disaster has prompted thousands of rescues and many found refuge in hastily prepared shelters.
