Flooding in the “basement” area of the Governor’s Mansion has caused John Bel Edwards’ family to be temporarily relocated.
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The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency Friday morning as rising water entered St. Helena Parish Hospital and a local nursing home and isolated the towns of Greenburg, Louisiana, and Osyka, Mississippi.
Heavy rains drenched parts of southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi Friday, causing risky floods that killed at least one person, cut off an entire town, prompted numerous rescues and shut down highways.
In Mississippi, a flash flood watch was in effect through Saturday morning, according to the state’s emergency management agency.
Rivers in southeast Louisiana and southern MS have been quickly rising above their banks, forcing more than 100 people to evacuate to safety.
In Crosby, Mississippi, more than 50 people flooded out of a neighborhood will be housed at a shelter in Natchez. “If we get much more rain, we’re going to have quite a few homes flooded”, Sheriff Daniel Edwards of Tangipahoa Parish told Reuters.
In Mississippi, Harrison County Emergency Manager Rupert Lacy said steady rain continued on the Gulf Coast.
Hansford says waters from Beaver Creek that are normally more than 400 feet away from his house rose quickly overnight.
The Louisiana town of Livingston was pounded with 10.5 inches of rain from Thursday night into Friday; the MS town of Gloster was drenched by 9.9 inches.
Moreau said the area hasn’t seen flooding this severe in more than 30 years.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said high water caused Interstate 55 to be closed near Amite.
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. Other rivers in the area – Tangipahoa, Amite, Comite and Tchefuncte – are either at major flood stage or expected to reach major flood stage soon.
Rescuers were still plucking people from floodwaters in Amite and Wilkinson counties in southwest Mississippi. Indicating how intense the rainfall has been, Browning said the following. The parish president, Robby Miller, said that authorities have rescued close to 72 people and seven pets already.
“They will be allowed to return home once the water starts to recede”, he said. Authorities said numerous rivers had broken their banks, threatening widespread flooding and prompting the closure of schools and roads across the region.
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In the Mobile area, forecasters expected an additional 2.2 inches of rain to fall on Friday, with higher amounts possible in some areas, according to the weather service’s projections.
