My younger brother, who as I write this is on his way to Baton Rouge to help flood victims, and I spent the better part of this last week doing two things: monitoring Louisiana State University flood maps and exchanging irritated text messages at how little national media attention was being given to the devastation occurring in our home state.
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Eight additional parishes had been approved for inclusion in the federal disaster declaration, bringing the total to 20, Edwards said.
The death toll from historic flooding in Louisiana rose to 13 Thursday as receding waters exposed the extent of devastation in the hard-hit southern U.S. state.
Since the storms began in Friday, many areas of Louisiana have seen at least one foot of rainfall.
“Our state is now experiencing a historic flooding event that is breaking every record”, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a statement late Monday.
As of Wednesday morning, 11 people have died and more than 40,000 homes have been damaged in ongoing flooding in southeastern Louisiana. 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 unsafe situations.
Reports of looting cropping up in flooded areas after people evacuated for drier land prompt…
Numerous homeowners in inundated areas have no flood insurance, leaving them prone to draining savings accounts and relying on federal disaster programs to rebuild and fix.
Graves began unearthing in floods Livingston Parish.
Floyd Melancon, 71, and his partner, Judy McGehee, 61, remained in the dark about how much water – if any – their Prairieville home received.
The result is dashed hopes for the legions of residents who fled their flooded homes for higher ground this week and were hoping to return to their homes and lives. The federal government declared it a major disaster, specifically in the parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston.
Edwards said there were still some 34,000 households and businesses without electricity in torrid summer heat and humidity.
“We have people who have family members there”, said Gary Maze of Broadmoor Baptist Church.
More than 1,000 pets have been rescued so far and emergency crews are searching for more.
“We are going door to door”, said Baton Rouge Fire Department Chief Ed Smith, describing a search and rescue process that he estimated could take another five to seven days.
The state of Louisiana has been devastated once again by historic flood waters.
Ascension officials said the rivers are reaching high levels Monday, and not going down anytime soon.
The volunteer rescuers have been dubbed the “Cajun Navy”.
Gonzales flooded only in the last 24 hours, as waters drained south.
“They took all the TV’s, everything they could get their hands on”, Elmira Perkins, a Baton Rouge local, said of her north Baton Rouge home. Ann Chapman from the Louisiana State Animal Response Team is pictured here carrying a dog she helped rescue from flood waters in Baton Rouge.
David Easterling told The New York Times that the flooding “is consistent with what we expect to see in the future if you look at climate models”.
The Red Cross is now accepting both donations and volunteers to help with flood relief. “Like everybody says, you still have your family”. “People are helping each other”.
The National Weather Service says the Vermilion River which runs through Lafayette remains at its crest of 17.5 feet Monday.
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State officials say 6,000 people remained in shelters Wednesday, down from more than 11,000 earlier in the week.
