In the central portion of the state, officials with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed Odartha Hoggartt, 57, of Leesville, died the weekend of August 13 and 14.
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Floodwaters reach the front steps of a home near Holden, La., after heavy rains inundated the region.
Flooding and storms often boost the mosquito population.
“We’re going to have thousands of people coming in”, Pannett said.
Babies born to women infected with Zika can have severe birth defects.
Lee said those people, along with others who had remained with their cars, were allowed to drive their vehicles with a police escort away from the interstate. An estimated 40,000 homes have been damaged, according to the Washington Post.
A Louisiana Army National Guard dump truck loaded with flood victims tilts after driving slightly off the road Sunday.. It’s the second such announcement this week.
Officials also updated the death toll to eight, but The Advocate in Baton Rouge reports a ninth fatality, citing East Baton Rouge County Coroner William “Beau” Clark. Classes originally were scheduled to start Wednesday.
While concerns remain for areas south of Baton Rouge as the flooding heads downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico, rescue efforts have increasingly focused on ensuring residents have supplies of food and water and helping them clear out their flood-damaged homes.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate visited the area Tuesday.
“Nobody is going to be forgotten, and we are going to be working around the clock and doing everything possible to render aid”, Edwards said. Obama received the briefing while in Martha’s Vineyard, a MA island.
Louisiana was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and authorities learned from that disaster that many people are reluctant to leave their homes without their pets, even when conditions are life-threatening.
Sims is among many without flood insurance who will depend on federal assistance.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is trying to make sure widespread flooding doesn’t cause problems in pending legal proceedings.
The order is effective retroactively to last Friday and lasts until September 9.
But farther south, including lower Ascension Parish, water continued to rise in some neighborhoods.
At least 11 people have been killed, some 40,000 homes affected and 30,000 people rescued in what officials have described as some of the worst flooding ever to hit the state.
The latest deaths were attributed to three accidental drownings.
The United Way of Southeast Louisiana is also accepting monetary donations on its website: www.unitedwaysela.org. The SBA provides loans of up to $2 million to fix and replace damaged equipment, inventory and property.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is scheduled to travel to Louisiana today.
“The fact that so many people in Louisiana have been forced out of their own homes this week is heartbreaking”, the 26-year-old said in a statement. “It had never flooded before”, McGehee said. Her representatives didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Some areas such as the town of Zachary received more than 2 feet of rain in a 48-hour period that ended Saturday morning.
Terry Brewer, left, and Timothy Harris pile up debris outside a flooded auto parts store in Albany, La. on Wednesday, Aug 17, 2016. Bourque says the evacuation affects about 60 to 70 homes. Water was in the yard. They’re shuttling people to safe, higher ground and shelters when necessary.
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“The Red Cross is mounting a massive relief operation, which we anticipate will cost at least $30 million, and that number may grow as we learn more about the scope and magnitude of the devastation”, Kieserman said.
