More rain expected to drop on soggy Louisiana, Mississippi
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — More rain Saturday was expected to swamp already soggy ground across Louisiana and other parts of the Gulf Coast where at least two people died and dozens had to be rescued from waist-high water surrounding their homes.
Edwards has scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Saturday to discuss the flooding situation, which also affected the Louisiana Governor's Mansion, which has a flooded basement.
A spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said one man died Friday after slipping into a flooded ditch near the city of Zachary.
State Fire Marshal H. "Butch" Browning confirmed they found a man in his 50s inside a marooned Chevrolet pickup truck about 7 p.m. Friday.
Numerous rivers in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi were overflowing their banks and threatening widespread flooding after extreme rainfall that began late Thursday, the National Weather Service reported.
Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said requests were coming in for high-water vehicles, boats and sandbags.