At least four people reported dead in Louisiana floods

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At least four people reported dead in Louisiana floods

More than 10,000 people were in shelters Sunday

The Associated Press on August 15, 2016

Across southern Louisiana Sunday, residents scrambled to get to safety as rivers and creeks burst their banks, swollen from days of heavy rain that in some areas came close to two feet over a 48-hour period.

More than 10,000 people were in shelters Sunday, according to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Read: 67% of flood damage is insured in the U.S.; 2% in China

In high-water vehicles, boats and helicopters, emergency crews hurried to rescue scores of south Louisiana residents as the governor warned it was not over.

From the air, homes in southwest Louisiana looked more like little islands surrounded by flooded fields. Farmland was covered, streets descended into impassable pools of water, shopping centres were inundated with only roofs of cars peeking above the water.

From the ground it was just as catastrophic.

Drivers tried to navigate treacherous roads where the water lapped at the side or covered the asphalt in a running stream. Abandoned cars were pushed to the side of the road, lawn furniture and children’s toys floating through the waters.

The low pressure system that wreaked such havoc moved into Texas, but the National Weather Service warned that there’s still danger of fresh floods, as swollen rivers drain toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Read: What to do about Canada’s outdated flood maps

Rivers in the Baton Rouge area have started to fall, but still remained above flood stage setting record levels over the weekend, the National Weather Service said Monday.

“The rivers and streams north of Interstate 12 have crested and have started to drop, while those south of the interstate continue to rise,” Meteorologist Mike Efferson said.

The Comite River just east of Baton Rouge on Monday morning dropped nearly 2 feet from the 34.2-feet level over the weekend. Flood stage is 20 feet. The Amite River at Denham Springs was at 43.5 feet Monday after reaching 46.2 feet. Flood stage is 29 feet.

“The area around Baton Rouge could see up to a half-inch of rain Monday, with a 40 to 50 per cent chance in the forecast,” Efferson said.

The federal government declared a major disaster in the state, specifically in the parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston. Gov. Edwards said President Barack Obama called him and said the people of southern Louisiana were in his thoughts and prayers and that the federal government would be a solid partner.

Read: No, Desjardins, our flood coverage is sustainable: The Co-operators

Edwards also called on people to refrain from going out to “sightsee” even as the weather gets better.

“This is a serious event. It is ongoing. It is not over,” the governor said Sunday.

Four people have been reported dead, said Devin George, the state registrar for vital records, earlier Sunday. Later Sunday, a woman’s body was recovered by divers from inside a flooded vehicle in East Baton Rouge Parish, appearing to raise the death toll to five.

Authorities worked throughout Sunday to rescue people from cars stranded on a miles-long stretch of Interstate 12 until the governor said on Twitter late in the day that everyone had been rescued.

 

 

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At least four people reported dead in Louisiana floods