About 20,000 people have been forced to leave their homes and more than 10,000 are in shelters after almost 2 feet of rain fell in parts of southern Louisiana, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. They’re shuttling people to safe, higher ground and shelters when necessary. As reports of looting surface, Baton Rouge Parish officials have established a curfew from the hours of 10 p.m.to 6 a.m., which began Tuesday evening. “It breaks my heart”, she said.
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But in a sign of improving conditions, the population at the shelter set up at the Celtic Media Center in Baton Rouge had dropped to 900 Wednesday from a high point of about 2,000.
The Louisiana National Guard reported that its soldiers rescued almost 500 people and 61 pets by boat, helicopter and high-water (high-clearance) vehicles in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday.
Gov. John Bel Edwards acknowledged that the state did not know how many people were missing, but he said that almost 8,100 people had slept in shelters on Monday night and that some 40,000 homes had been “impacted to varying degrees”. The wooden floor boards in his office are scattered like matchsticks, exposing the wet cement underneath.
“The water was waist deep, so it’s iffy if I can take the sheet rock and insulation half way or have to go to the ceiling”, she said. “If we don’t make it in time, we trash it”. They also searched countless cars caught in the flooding.
“If you have a unit that’s an old mother-in-law suite and you can rent it out, let us know”, said Keith Cunningham, who heads the Louisiana Housing Corporation, the state housing agency. With that declaration – which initially affects four civil parishes, with more expected – residents can seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Performer Taylor Swift told The Associated Press she is donating $1 million to flood relief.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the first responders in south Louisiana and the residents who are going through this devastating ordeal”, said Sheriff Whittington.
Rivers and creeks were still dangerously bloated in areas south of Baton Rouge as the water made its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
An estimated 75% of the homes in Livingston Parish, an area with 138,000 people that has been hit particularly hard, were said to be a “total loss”.
Almost 800 evacuees have gathered in a makeshift Red Cross shelter established in Gonzales, at a multipurpose facility that hosts rodeos, auto and truck shows and concerts.
“So when I saw this coming, I took the few things of sentimental value, got all the cows, the puppy dogs”, Henry said after feeding the bulls a batch of hay. Countless others didn’t have flood insurance and may not have the means to fix their homes.
Almost 15,000 homes in Ascension Parish were flooded, said Richard Webre, director of the parish’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Louisiana has been declared a major disaster area.
Anyone with flood damage is eligible for FEMA aid of close to $33,000 – far less than many people without flood insurance will need to fix and replace their damaged property. There were fish and thousands of spiders.
“I’m not going to lie, I cried uncontrollably”, he said. “Like everybody says, you still have your family”, he added.
The Advocate newspaper in Baton Rouge on Wednesday called on Obama to visit “the most anguished state in the union”.
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Santana reported from New Orleans.
