The sun is shining in Lafayette, Louisiana, but flood waters remain high across the heart of Acadiana.
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Army National Guard soldiers pile sandbags Wednesday to protect against floodwaters in Lake Arthur, La. He said they’re expecting to refill the shelters with dogs that got trapped by flood waters.
A sign is seen along a flooded road on August 15, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“This is where I live”.
“I can’t live without her pictures”.
The Louisiana governor’s office later confirmed that 11 people had died in the flooding.
The Southern University Marching Band, known as the Human Jukebox, did what it could to try to lift the spirits of those in the Baton Rouge River Center shelter Tuesday.
Her family has owned her home in Denham Springs – a city of 10,000 east of the state capital Baton Rouge – for 65 years.
More than 8,000 are staying in shelters, but that number is fluctuating as people arrive and leave the shelters.
Many organizations are coming together to help the victims.
“I got nowhere else to go”, said Thomas Lee, 56, who ekes out a living as a drywall hanger – a skill that will come in handy.
Exactly how many will need temporary housing is unclear, but state officials are already urging landlords to allow short-term leases and encouraging people to rent out any empty space available.
The Red Cross says more than 1,000 disaster volunteers have been mobilized from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to help with the Louisiana flood relief efforts. Other agencies and even private vessels joined in the effort as firefighters were ordered to abandon the ship for their safety.”It was like something out of a movie”, said Maria Prensa, a 64-year-old Dominican passenger as she wiped away tears.
“We’re asking people, if you’re going to fight it, fight it, but I think it was a tough decision to make for everybody”. The tally included four men who the sheriff’s office said broke into a Dollar General store and stole $750 worth of supplies.
Edwards said on Twitter that 60,000 state residents have applied for FEMA assistance.
The governor said he is anxious about “battle fatigue” setting in as rescuers and residents deal with day upon day of stress.
Officials asked anyone interested in helping to visit VolunteerLouisiana.gov.
While some have criticized Obama’s decision, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday he is “not complaining in any way about our federal partnership”.
Obama has not commented on the flooding.
So far, 20 parishes have been declared federal disaster areas, which means affected residents are eligible for federal aid. Similarly, the Comite River, an Amite tributary that caused flooding in parts of East Baton Rouge Parish, had dropped nearly 25 feet since cresting Sunday at 34 feet.
Finally, keep in mind that if you do opt to buy flood insurance, FEMA places a 30-day waiting period from the time of purchase to effective coverage, to avoid folks who wait until the last minute and only try to buy it if they see a disaster looming.
Several thousand homes and businesses in southern Louisiana were without power, reports CBS Baton Rouge affiliateWAFB-TV.
In conversations, residents and business owners in the town of Albany repeatedly note that the area had never flooded before – and flood insurance wasn’t required. “We’re in a system inherently capable of producing more floods”.
At 5 a.m. Saturday, another Facebook post reported a flash flood emergency in parts of Livingston and St. Helena parishes and that water was entering buildings. Flood warnings extend across much of the southern portions of the state with many bayous and rivers still at unsafe levels.
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Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told a panel of state officials Thursday the need for the loan was “more probable than not”.
