In flooded Louisiana, a cleanup and a search for bodies
(AP) — Authorities went door to door and car to car to check for bodies Tuesday, and homeowners began the heartbreaking task of gathering up soaked family photos and mucking out houses dank with bayou mud, as the floodwaters started to recede across parts of southern Louisiana.
Officials painted a stark picture of the crisis so far: at least 40,000 homes damaged and 10 people killed in some of the worst flooding in Louisiana history, touched off by as much as 2 feet of rain in 48 hours.
The smell of muddy water hung heavy in the air as people donned surgical masks and began the back-breaking job of ripping out soggy carpet, drywall and insulation.
Raymond Lieteau, 48, returned to his home in the Woodlands neighborhood of Baton Rouge to survey the damage Tuesday and begin cleaning up.
The bedroom floors were buckled and the walls bowed, and the swimming pool, once a crystal-clear blue, was filled with brown water.
About 40,000 people had signed up for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and eight parishes were added to the federal disaster declaration, bringing the total to 12.