US: At least 3 dead in flooding throughout Louisiana

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

At least three people have died and more than 7,000 others have been rescued from their homes as torrential rains continue to send floodwaters rushing across Louisiana, the state governor said Sunday.

A fourth person is unaccounted for, added John Bel Edwards, warning that the worst had not yet passed and that waters were likely to rise in certain areas.

“It's no time to let the guard down,” he said.

Some areas of the state received roughly two feet (60 centimeters) of rain in less than 48 hours, forcing rivers to overrun their banks inundating nearby communities.

The rains prompted Edwards to declare a state of emergency and ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a federal disaster declaration.

Stunning video have shown heroic rescue efforts by citizens, including one in which a man jumps into a flooded road, smashing a car window and pulling a woman and her dog from a car that was completely submerged.

Between two and four inches of additional rain are expected to exacerbate the flooding later Sunday.

So far thousands of homes have been devastated by the torrents.