The National Weather Service (NWS) on Sunday maintained a flash flood watch for parts of Louisiana and MS and extended it to southeastern Texas, including the city of Houston, where rains left at least eight dead in late April. The corpse of a drowned woman was recovered from the Tickfaw River in southeast Louisiana, according to Michael Martin, chief of operations for the St. Helena Sheriff’s Office.
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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards called on people to refrain from going out to “sightsee” even as the weather gets better.
First responders worked through Saturday night rescuing hundreds trapped in deadly flooding as high waters continue to inundate southern Lousiana.
After heavy rains flooded south Louisiana interstate on Friday, emergency crews have not stopped rescuing people from their homes and cars.
James Waskom, director of the governor’s office of homeland security and emergency preparedness, also briefed reporters Saturday.
The flooding began Friday when 6 to 10 inches of rain soaked parts of the state with additional rain dumped on certain areas Saturday. Phillips says the biggest danger is in East Baton Rouge Parish and the triangle created by Interstates 55, 10 and 12, including Livingston and Ascension parishes.
In addition to the three confirmed deaths, at least one person is missing, Edwards said.
In an episode captured on video, a man jumped off a boat, ripped the roof of a convertible sports auto and pulled a woman and her small dog out as the vehicle sank.
Alex Cobb, one of the motorists stranded for a day, said she had been on her way to a bridal shower with food, which she used to feed those who were stuck.
The woman, who was not initially visible on camera, yelled from inside the vehicle: “Oh my god, I’m drowning”.
One of the rescuers then jumped into the water and pulled the woman out, just before her vehicle went under.
“Get my dog, get my dog, ” she said, her frantic voice, choked with water. However, the rescuer in the water took one more dive and came back with the dog. They even managed to save her dog.
One government official told the Associated Press that more than 5,000 people were staying in shelters. He added that, even though the rain stopped on Sunday, the flooding is “not over”.
The governor said that estimate is likely low because local first responders have also been retrieving people and it’s hard to say exactly how many people they have helped.
The dog then pops up out of the water in the man’s arms and the people back on the boat gasp in relief.
They fled out the backdoor and eventually waded through waist deep water to get to a National Guard truck.
The Weather Channel reports that 30 inches of rain fell in the town of Watson, La., which is in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, and that number is expected to climb. The woman, who’s not initially visible on camera, yells from inside the auto: “Oh my god, I’m drowning”.
Over the weekend, rainfall caused rivers across the state to rise to historic levels, particularly around Baton Rouge.
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More than 1,000 individuals have been rescued, but three people have been left dead. The Amite River, for example, exceeded its previous record by over six feet in one area.
