Planet X Incoming: Historic Flooding in Louisiana
Get off coast lines while you can....
Amite City, Louisiana (CNN)Louisiana
Gov. John Bel Edwards called the widespread flooding spawned by the
region's pounding rain across the southern part of the state a "truly
historic event" that won't be over anytime soon.
The rain battered the parishes around Baton Rouge and is expected to move west, he said at a news conference Saturday.
There are record levels of flooding and cresting along rivers and creeks that will affect homes, roads and driveways, he said.
"This is a major disaster," the governor said. "This is an ongoing event and we are still in the response mode."
At least three people have died so far as a result of the flooding sweeping through south Louisiana, officials said.
The
body of a 30-year-old woman was recovered Saturday afternoon in St.
Helena Parish, Michael Martin, the chief of operations for St. Helena
Parish Sheriff's Office, said The woman was traveling with her husband
and mother when their vehicle was swept away by the flood. Her mother
and husband were rescued.
Officials have not released the name of the woman.
She
is the second known flood victim in St. Helena Parish. Samuel Muse, 54,
of Greensburg died when his vehicle was submerged Friday after a
portion of Highway 10 collapsed at Darlings Creek, CNN-affiliate WAFB reported.
"At
this time, troopers believe that Muse attempted to drive through high
water and his vehicle was swept off the road," the Louisiana State
Police said.
The state's first
flood-related fatality happened in East Baton Rouge Parish on Friday. A
68-year-old man drowned when he slipped and fell in flood water.\
Dramatic rescue
There
was almost a fourth victim, but three men in a boat stumbled on the
woman's nearly submerged convertible just in time, and struggled to pull
her out as the car filled with water.
"Oh my God, I'm drowning, I'm drowning," the woman said in a faint voice, as captured in a video given to CNN.
"We're coming, we're coming," one of the men said. They tried to smash the passenger side window.
"Please help me," the woman said.
One
man asked for a knife to cut the soft top and hopped on the trunk of
the car, which was still sticking in the air with the rest of the car
nose-dived into water, quickly sinking.
As
the underwater car started to float away under his weight, the man
jumped into the water, frantically ripping at the soft top to no avail;
then he reached in the car's driver-side window, trying to reach the
victim.
Just when it looked like
she was lost, the woman stuck her arms out of the water toward him. He
got a good hold and pulled her to safety.
She popped up through the water and announced they needed to rescue one more victim.
"Get my dog, get my dog,'' she said, her frantic voice, choked with water. "Get my dog, now. I'll go down."
"I can't get the dog," he said, as he felt inside the submerged convertible.
He ducked under the water to reach into the car.
"Maybe she's gone," said one of the men in the boat.
"No -- she better not be," the woman said, her voice strained.
The rescuer reemerged and exhorted: "I got your dog."
He
held up the small, white, terrier-looking creature, turned to the
victim and in a calmer, more exhausted but happy voice said: "Swim for
the boat."
National Guard soldiers, search assets deployed
More
than 1,000 people have been rescued from cars, homes and elsewhere from
swift-moving floodwaters and more than 100 pets have been saved,
Edwards said.
"People that should have evacuated didn't, so they are having to be evacuated," Gov. Edwards said.
Ray
Cutrer told CNN that the flood seemed to come out of nowhere after
about 21 inches of rain fell over 24 hours. His daughter, whom he had
moved next door to two years ago, believed they might get a bit of water
in the house but didn't fear a deluge.
"Our guard was down," he said. "And then it was a matter of just watching the water continually rise."
By
midnight Friday they were storing furniture and other valuables in the
attic and carrying what they could over the back property line as water
continued to fill the road.
Saturday, when they returned, Cutrer found his house had escaped damage but his daughter's was devastated.
She and her husband will be living with him and his wife until repairs are done, he said, while another washed-out neighbor is staying with Cutrer's brother.
She and her husband will be living with him and his wife until repairs are done, he said, while another washed-out neighbor is staying with Cutrer's brother.
"We're just
keeping them right here in the neighborhood, and we are all going to be
working right here with them, cleaning it out," Cutrer said. "That is
the way we can give back to this community."
He
added, "I promised God when I saw my house didn't have any water in it,
I said, 'Lord, I will be here to help the ones who did,' and I am. I
will be right here. We'll help them every way that we can."
He said the fire department had to rescue neighbors by boat.
The
governor has also deployed the Louisiana National Guard, which said it
has approximately 1,000 soldiers on the ground assisting in search and
rescue, that number will increase to 1,200 to 1,250 by the end of the
day Saturday.
Also deployed were 170 high water vehicles, 20 boats, and five helicopters.
At least 18 parishes have declared emergencies, the governor said, with three in the process of doing so.
This is in addition to the state of emergency Edwards declared Friday. It remains in effect until September 10.
He said people living in areas where they've been asked to evacuate should heed warnings and people should stay off the road.
About
16 shelters are open. Power outages have been reported and roads,
including portions of Interstate 10 and others, have been closed. There
are more than100 roads closed throughout the state.
The Red Cross is already distributing food and water to shelters.
The
state is preparing to ask for federal help in recovery efforts when it
determines damage estimates but for now, the governor said, it and the
parishes are handling the response efforts.
Water
got into the governor's mansion, and Edwards said the electricity has
been turned off as a precaution. The office moved its operations to a
state police facility farther north.
James
Waskom, director of the governor's office of homeland security and
emergency preparedness, also briefed reporters Saturday.
Livingston Parish
The
round-the-clock vigilance of rescue teams and police played out
Saturday in parishes across central and southern Louisiana, from the
Mississippi to Texas borders.
One example of such activity was Livingston Parish, near Baton Rouge..
As
the rain pounded the Bend Road area of the drenched parish early
Saturday, Livingston sheriff's deputies worked to get the word out to
several hundred people along that stretch: Get out now if you can.
This is a "life-threatening situation," sheriff's office spokeswoman Lori Steele said in a TV interview.
She
gave instructions to people on where to meet deputies who can transport
them to shelters. The department went into action on social media to
inform people what to do.
"Our main goal is no loss of life."
Livingston Parish President Layton Ricks issued a warning about the Amite River corridor.
"The
Amite River is continuing to rise at a rapid rate and will continue to
do so. If you live on the Amite River corridor it is urgent that you
make plans to evacuate your home immediately," he said.
Flash flooding
The National Weather Service
offices in New Orleans and Lake Charles issued flash flood warnings
Saturday morning for portions of several parishes, and heavy rain was
reported.
Rain in some spots was beginning to diminish during the day.
"Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams," the Lake Charles office said.
The New Orleans office said "life-threatening flooding is occurring over a large area."
"This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now."
No break in the rain for a while
CNN
meteorologist Derek Van Dam said Baton Rouge received twice the amount
of rain in one 24-hour period than it normally receives in the entire
month of August. The average for August is 5.82 inches, he said.
Some
rainfall totals have exceeded 20 inches. Livingston has received 21.29
inches from late Thursday until early Saturday, he said.
One
river, the Tickfaw, rose 20 feet in 14 hours, breaking a previous crest
record by more than three feet, he said. He said other rivers are
reaching record flood stages.
"The
heaviest rain is behind us," Van Dam said. "I don't see any break in the
weather until early in the week next week. The rain will continue and
ease by Tuesday.
The ground is
extremely saturated, he said, and any additional rainfall is going to
cause more flooding. He said the moisture is going to spread east and
north into the Ohio River Valley.
In
Livingston, the sheriff's office had to move its 911 communications
center to another location -- the emergency operations center in the
parish government building -- because it was taking on water, the parish
sheriff's office said in a statement..
"For
hours, deputies have been handling an extremely high call volume and
have been able to keep floodwaters at bay. Unfortunately, the
floodwaters have proved to be too much," the statement said. There's
been "no interruption in services."
Louisiana
State University in Baton Rouge announced that the school is closed. It
said in tweets that campus streets were impacted by water.
"Please stay away from campus if possible," the school tweeted. LSU "Football Fan Day and Media Day" on Sunday are canceled.
"Never seen water like this"
Todd
Voight, 31, who lives behind Brandon's Appliances in Amite, checked on
his home and the store he runs with his brother Brandon.
Both took on water, but were not severely damaged. "I've never seen water like this," said the lifelong Amite resident.
CNN spoke with Todd Voight, 31
Sandy
Morgan, 34, was rescued by boat Friday night along with his family and
returned home Saturday morning to survey the damage.
He told CNN he built the home six years ago, and only got flood insurance six months ago.
"Thank God," he said.
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