Flooding forces more than 1,000 from homes in Louisiana

ELM GROVE, La. – Huge military trucks rumbled through neighborhoods in northern Louisiana on Thursday in search of families trapped by days of relentless rain, while men in rain gear waded through floodwaters up to their chests to rescue stranded animals.

The process was repeated throughout the day, and similar rescues were possible later Thursday in the southern part of the state, which also braced for heavy rain.

State officials said a 6-year-old girl was among three people killed in Louisiana during two days of severe weather that has left roads covered in water and sent more than 1,000 people fleeing their homes.

Docia Winters hugged her 20-year-old son, Ryan Ficca, when he got off the back of a big truck Thursday morning. She said she and her husband and daughter evacuated their trailer on Wednesday, but Ficca had stayed behind to look after their 11 cats.

She said the water rose so fast, however, that Ficca was forced to leave without the cats.

“We don’t know if they went under the trailer or where they are,” she said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a statewide emergency in all 64 Louisiana parishes late Thursday because more rain and severe weather were expected, and the National Guard was sent in to help. The declaration remains in effect until Friday unless terminated sooner, the governor’s office said.

Guard spokesman Rebekah Malone said the Guard has evacuated 361 people from homes in Bossier, Ouachita and Morehouse parishes since Wednesday morning, using trucks that can travel though water 20 to 30 inches deep.

Guardsmen have also evacuated 70 dogs, 16 chickens and a guinea pig.

Authorities were using high-water vehicles to bring out about 1,000 people. Rescuers were working out of a staging area along Highway 71 in Bossier Parish on Thursday. Using boats and trucks, they went through the community evacuating people from their homes.

Rain also pummeled parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. One weather-related drowning was reported in both Oklahoma and Texas earlier this week.

In Louisiana, officials Wednesday said a 63-year-old man died when a car was swept off a flooded road. Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said a 22-year-old man and a 6-year-old girl in Ouachita Parish have also been confirmed dead.