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Drenched U.S. South facing more heavy rain after flood deaths
10
March, 2016
DALLAS
(Reuters) – A slow-moving storm dumped more rain on the waterlogged
U.S. South on Thursday after heavy downpours killed at least four
people this week, prompting evacuations and rescues from inundated
areas.
Three
people died over the past two days in northern Louisiana, deluged
with some of the heaviest rainfall. Two men and a 6-year-old child
were killed after either ignoring flood warnings or entering
treacherous areas without signs, the Louisiana Department of Health
and Hospitals said.
A
30-year-old man drowned on Tuesday as he tried to drive across a
flooded area in southeastern Oklahoma, the National Weather Service
said.
Forecasters
at the NWS received reports of 10 to 15 inches (25-38 cm) of rain in
northeastern Texas, parts of Arkansas and Louisiana over a day and a
half.
Particularly
hard hit was Monroe, Louisiana, with more than 17 inches (43 cm),
said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the NWS Weather Prediction
Center.
As
the system moves east, flooding is a concern in areas of Mississippi,
western Tennessee and Alabama, along with Louisiana, he said
.
“It’s
going to continue to be a pretty high-impact storm,” Oravec said,
noting that rains could linger into Saturday.
Videos
on social media showed fish swimming on flooded sidewalks near the
University of Louisiana-Monroe campus.
The
Louisiana National Guard soldiers said it had helped rescue more than
360 people stranded in their homes and on roads by high waters since
Wednesday. The guard also said it retrieved 70 dogs, 16 chickens and
a guinea pig.
The
governors of Louisiana and Mississippi declared a state of emergency
in affected regions, and many schools and state government offices
were set to be closed through Friday.
Arkansas
Governor Asa Hutchinson declared 11 counties as disaster areas.
People
in as many as 3,500 homes in Bossier City, Louisiana, were told to
evacuate, the Shreveport Times reported.
The
National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for parts of
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Authorities
in central Texas are searching for a rancher who disappeared on
Wednesday night while attempting to wrangle cattle from rising
floodwaters in Falls County, the Waco Tribune reported.
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