A huge rainstorm has wrought devastation on southern Louisiana, causing flooding which has killed up to 11 people and left tens of thousands homeless, in what National Weather Service has called a “1,000-year” disaster. In just 24 hours, a massive 21 inches of rain fell in Livingston Parish alone.
It is the worst flooding crisis in the United States since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Floodwater has submerged parts of Baton Rouge in the nation’s worst flooding crisis since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.https://t.co/UaFOXmzNhc
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 16, 2016
More than 20,000 people had been rescued and 8,000 were in shelters on Monday night, and Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard told ABC News that 80 percent of the homes in the area surrounding Baton Rouge could be destroyed from the flooding.
It is estimated that current search and rescue operations may take upwards of five to seven days. There are currently around 34,000 households and businesses which are totally without electricity.
A federal emergency has been declared, and rescue operations are underway. “It’s kind of an all hands on deck,” a rep for the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness told The Weather Channel. “We still have a situation where motorists are stranded on I-12, and it remains closed between here and St. Tammany Parish, so the whole interstate system from Baton Rouge to that location is still closed.”
Currently pic.twitter.com/6Qfx6XJcI1
— Caitlin (@caitlinmp___) August 15, 2016
Here’s hoping the rain stops.
Source: The Weather Channel.
Photo: Getty Images.
