Thousands evacuated as floodwaters continue to rise in Louisiana
Death toll continue to rise from the widespread flooding across Louisiana as residents pray rain will continue to subside.
The US federal government has already declared a major disaster in four parishes following widespread flooding which include the hard-hit parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa, freeing up federal funding for flood-related assistance.
Heavy rains have swollen rivers and caused widespread flooding across southern Louisiana.
Across southern Louisiana, 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.
Early Sunday, officials say they have recovered the body of a woman from inside a flooded vehicle.
Casey Rayborn Hicks, a spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, says witnesses say the woman was seen last night attempting to turn around in high water when her vehicle was swept away.
The woman’s name will be released following family notification.
That would appear to raise the death toll from the widespread flooding to five people. Officials confirmed that a 59-year-old man was swept away by the current while walking along a road in Tangipahoa City on Friday. The man, who was not identified, drowned, said Devin George, director of the state registrar.
Gov. John Bel Edwards says more than 10,000 people are in shelters and more than 20,000 people have been rescued across south Louisiana because of widespread flooding.
The governor says the Baton Rouge River Center, a major events location in the capital city’s downtown, will be opened Sunday as a shelter to handle the large numbers of evacuees.
Edwards said President Barack Obama called him and said that “the people of south Louisiana are in his thoughts and prayers and the federal government will be a solid partner.”
“It’s not over,” Edwards said Sunday. “The water’s going to rise in many areas. It’s no time to let the guard down.”
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.