Authorities are going auto to vehicle to rescue people stranded on the Interstate from horrific Louisiana flooding which has swamped large portions of the southeast, cutting off roads and highways.
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In Livingston Parish, where floods had displaced “well over a thousand people”, authorities imposed a curfew as rivers poured over their banks, Sheriff Jason Ard said. “We’re still in response mode”, Edwards said, urging residents to heed warnings to evacuate and be prepared for a disaster that could last for several days.
One of the rescuers, David Phung, jumps into the water and pulls the woman to safety, the video shows. Authorities are going in high water vehicles to each auto to rescue people and carry them to safety.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Saturday declared a state of emergency, calling the floods “unprecedented” and “historic”. Among them, a man in the Louisiana town of Zachary, near the capital Baton Rouge, drowned trying to escape flood waters, local television station WAFB reported. “He went under the water”. “We tried to wait it out, but we had to get out”. His body has already been recovered.
State Fire Marshal H.
In Tangipahoa, a low-lying village northeast of Baton Rouge, Police Chief Darrell Martin told CNN that a father and son were swept away by rushing waters.
“You just hope for the best”, Martin said. Many homes have been destroyed. “I would saw for a while”.
People living in Baker, Louisiana, have stated that in order to get to shelters set up by the Red Cross, they had to navigate through flooded streets that were snake infested. A resident wades through flood water at Tiger Manor Apartments by the North Gates of LSU, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, in Baton Rouge, La.
The children managed to get out through an emergency exit, according to witnesses.
Pounding rains swamped parts of southeast Louisiana so that whole subdivisions and shopping centers appeared isolated by floodwaters, which have claimed at least three lives.
Several others in the area have been reported missing.
At least 3 people were killed and dozens more were injured due to widespread flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Comite River near Baton Rouge and Amite River near Denham Springs, both in Louisiana, were predicted to set record crests over the weekend.
A National Weather Service volunteer measured 17.09 inches of rain in Livingston, Louisiana since midnight – making the deluge a 1-in-1000-year rainfall for that location.
In southwest Mississippi, Leroy Hansford, his wife and stepson were among those rescued near Gloster, which had more than 14 inches of rain. Between 5 and 15 inches of rain have fallen in the parish.
“That’s what we see playing out over and over in Louisiana today, and it’s gratifying to me as governor to see the people coming together here”, he said. Several people were treated for injuries sustained when a tree fell on a auto.
Schools, government offices and many businesses were closed.
At least two people are dead as a slow-moving storm continues to dump rain on Louisiana.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for parts of southern MS and south-eastern Louisiana, including New Orleans.
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Forecasters warned portions of central and northern Louisiana could see heavy rain into next week. As of Saturday morning, 21 parishes had declared or were in the processing of declaring their own states of emergency.
