The entire state has been declared a state of emergency. Governor John Bel Edwards traveled to Shreveport, West Monroe and Franklinton to assess the destruction from the storm. He says although they have not come up with an estimate on the damage yet, he expects it to be quite high.
Edwards says the state government has met all of the requests for resources that his office has received. He says the cost for reparations may pose a problem for the legislature, given the fiscal deficit the state is facing, so he will look to the federal government for additional money and resources.
Tangipahoa Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Dawson Primes says his parish is seeing a lot of water.
Primes says the forecast for the river levels is skyrocketing because of water coming down from north Louisiana. He says so far they have rescued about 500 people.
Much of southeast Louisiana is under a flash flood watch until Saturday afternoon. Chris Bannan with the National Weather Service in Slidell says rainfall totals varied throughout the state, and some areas got about 17 inches of rain in just 12 hours. He says we could still get up to 5 more inches of rain, which could be an issue for people near the rivers.
The Louisiana National Guard has rescued more than 1,000 citizens, over 200 pets and 16 livestock. They have also distributed over 12,000 bottles of water and issued 324-thousand sandbags.
In other news, a state judge has sentenced a former priest in Lake Charles to two life sentences, plus 50 years for sexually abusing two altar boys in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mark Broussard was convicted on five counts, including two counts of aggravated rape.
And a Baton Rouge judge has declared a mistrial in the discrimination case involving former UL Lafayette Coach Jerry Baldwin.