Heavy Rains, Deadly Flooding Hit Southern US

That number appeared to at least double by the end of the day, when Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said 2,000 people in his parish along had been rescued, and more people still await help.

Edwards’ spokesman Richard Carbo said the governor returned to Louisiana on Friday because of the flooding. The body was turned over to the parish coroner’s office.

Torrential downpours in parts of Louisiana and MS caused flooding on Friday that killed at least one man, left two people injured and forced residents to evacuate homes throughout the region, officials said.

All of southeast Louisiana remains under a flood watch until Saturday morning.

The body of a 68-year-old man was recovered on Friday near Baker, Louisiana, close to the state capital, after he drowned while trying to evacuate, said William “Beau” Clark, the coroner in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The National Weather Service has issued flash flooding warning for all of southwest Louisiana until 2 p.m. Saturday as a low pressure system continues to drift slowly to the west. Forecaster Donald Jones in Lake Charles, Louisiana, says the storm system moved from southeast Louisiana to an area along the central Gulf coast in 24 hours or about 100 to 200 miles.

The weather service said in a statement that an additional 3 inches to 5 inches could fall over the warning area.

Maurice Butler, 52, was riding in the back of a National Guard truck on Saturday with his wife, two sons and three dogs after being rescued from flood waters in Denham Springs, west of Baton Rouge.

In Mississippi, water rescues were conducted throughout the day and two people were reported with minor injuries in Harrison County, where roads were reopened by the afternoon, the state’s Emergency Management Agency said.

Rescuers were still plucking people from floodwaters in Amite and Wilkinson counties in southwest Mississippi. He said another stepson who lives nearby alerted him.

Tolliver said most of the buildings in Crosby sustained water damage. “It came up to my waist”.

Hansford said he and his family members all have disabilities, and he’s the only one who can swim.

Leroy Hansford, his wife and stepson were among those rescued near Gloster.

More than 50 people have been flooded out of a neighborhood in Crosby, Mississippi, and will be housed at a shelter in Natchez. The town of Livingston received 10.5 inches of rain from Thursday night into Friday.

He said at a press conference Saturday that officials still don’t know how bad the flooding will get and warned residents not to rely on past experience when deciding on a course of action.

The National Weather Service says the same system that is now affecting parts of Louisiana dumped heavy rainfall on coastal Alabama this week.

More rain fell Friday, but Johnson said those rainfall totals weren’t available Saturday morning.

Heavy rain and street flooding prompted the rescue of residents from their homes in Tangipahoa Parish and the cancellation of classes in five school districts, authorities said. Shelters have been opened in the town of Amite and the city of Hammond to house those who were evacuated.

The severe weather comes five months after March flooding in Louisiana and MS that left at least four dead and thousands of homes damaged.

“The last major flood we had was in March”, said city administrator Lacy Landrum.

According to WWL-TV, the Bogue Chitto River is expected to crest at 18 feet, and deputies are going door-to-door in Bogue Chitto Heights telling residents ‘be prepared to leave.’ In Tangipahoa Parish, president Robby Miller instructed residents living near the Tangipahoa River to leave their homes and find a safer place to stay until the water recedes, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. “This one is on track to be a similar event”.

In the small town of Crosby, the heavy rains and flooding affected almost all of the 342 people who live there, said Wilkerson County’s emergency management director, Thomas Tolliver Jr.