Disaster declared in Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana—US President Barack Obama issued a disaster declaration on Sunday for flood-ravaged Louisiana, where at least five people have died and emergency crews have rescued more than 20,000 people stranded by unprecedented flooding.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said residents had been pulled from swamped cars, flooded homes and threatened hospitals across the southern part of the state.
The already soaked region is expected to get more rain from a storm system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley.
Shelters full
Obama’s disaster declaration makes federal aid available in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa. Other parishes are expected to be added to the list.
Edwards told a news conference that more than 20,000 people had been rescued from flood waters in southern Louisiana.
In Livingston, phone service was spotty due to the high waters and most shelters were full.
About 5,000 people had been forced to sleep in shelters overnight around the state.
Helicopters in rescue
Helicopters were transporting food and water to those still trapped by floods. Helicopters were also transporting some seriously ill people to areas outside the high waters.
The National Weather Service forecast heavy rain from the Gulf Coast as far north as the Ohio Valley through Monday, with a threat of flash flooding.
At least five people had died from the high water.