At least 7 killed in catastrophic Louisiana floods
The catastrophic floods in the US state of Louisiana have taken at least 7 lives so far, officials confirm, marking a tragic development in the history of a region accustomed to hurricanes and storms.
State officials confirmed the seventh flood-related death on Monday night, when a man’s body was pulled from floodwaters in the East Baton Rouge Parish.
According to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, more than 20,000 people have been rescued from the four parishes of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston that were hit the hardest.
However, thousands of other people are still trapped in those areas and are waiting for rescue teams to arrive, Edwards added.
Police said Sunday that more than a 100 cars were stranded on one of the state’s main roads and rescue teams were going car by car to rescue their passengers.
During a visit to hard-hit areas in the Lafayette region of south central Louisiana on Monday, the governor warned people against entering the city before roadways were declared safe.
He noted that Louisiana was still "saving lives" and in "the response phase" of the unprecedented flooding that started from Friday.
"We're doing search and rescue right now in many parishes. As the floodwaters move south and the rivers are cresting further and further south, you have additional areas that are being brought into play," he noted.
The critical situation in Louisiana prompted President Barack Obama to issue a “major disaster” declaration for the state on Sunday night, pledging federal support for those who were affected.
Authorities said on Monday that they were expecting even more destruction when rising waterways begin to finally dump their contents and flood thousands of homes in the process.
According to officials, at least six river stations across the state have already recorded water levels beyond the flood stage, with some areas reporting heights that exceed 500-year flood levels.
Louisiana experienced a similar situation in March, when thousands of homes in the northern parts of the state were damaged as a result of devastating floods.
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