More than 40,000 homes were damaged and at least 30,000 people and 1,400 pets were rescued as the storm hit parishes across south Louisiana with heavy rains and severe flooding.
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Gautreaux said at a Tuesday news conference that the 10 p.m. -to-6 a.m. curfew will help keep potential lawbreakers off the streets while limiting traffic on roadways still laden with debris.
Beginning Friday, a torrent of about 2 feet of rain inundated the southern part of the state over a 48-hour period, and days later many homes and businesses were still underwater.
The Louisiana National Guard said in a statement that it has begun to divide its efforts equally between recovery and search and rescue operations as some areas begin to see floodwaters recede. Such equipment includes special life vests to sustain more than one person and special ropes and rigging gear to coordinate rescues in very swift water or risky situations. A 68-year-old man drowned when he slipped and fell in flood water.
Just to get an idea of how bad the flood waters have been, The National Weather Service says the Vermilion River reached and maintained a crest of 17.5 feet as of Monday. There were fish and thousands of spiders, and mold had started to grow. “But you have to push forward and make it through”.
“I figure by fixing it up one room at a time, we’ll be fine”, William said.
The extent of damage was coming into clearer view.
On Tuesday, President Obama expanded the federal disaster declaration for Louisiana to 20 parishes.
Officials in Livingston Parish have estimated that 75 percent of the homes were a total loss.
Of the other deaths, five people have died in East Baton Rouge Parish, three in Tangipahoa Parish, two in St. Helena Parish, two in Livingston Parish and one in Rapides Parish from the storms and their aftermath.
Waters were receding in some northern and western areas of the flood zone, while other areas were still in an active emergency, the governor said.
“We’ll be bringing them soap and shampoo, and toothbrushes, and toothpaste, Deodorant”, said Joodi Archer, Development & Media Director for Matthew 25 Ministries.
The number of people staying in shelters is fluctuating, officials said, because some people were leaving while others were entering shelters from newly-flooded areas.
GONZALES, La. (AP) – The heartbreaking task of sorting through waterlogged belongings and ripping out carpets and drywall is kicking into high gear Wednesday in flood-wracked southern Louisiana as the state faces a long-term challenge of how to house thousands of displaced people. Another, Livingston, got almost 22 inches over the same stretch.
With flood insurance, homeowners are prone to draining savings accounts and relying on federal disaster programs to rebuild and fix.
The 4 feet of water that wrecked James DuPont’s used auto dealership in Baton Rouge has finally receded, allowing him to take stock of the devastation Tuesday.
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He says his father opened the business close to 70 years ago. He had a dozen or so vehicles on the property, including his personal auto, and they all appear to be total losses. “I don’t know where it’s at right now”, Melancon said. “I’ll try to salvage what I can”. “I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack”. There’s been at least 11 deaths so far because of the floods, the Weather Channel reports, and that number is unfortunately expected to rise.
