Tag Archives: Louisiana

Southern U.S. flooding causes closure of major highway

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Flooding caused by days of heavy rain forced the closure on Tuesday of a section of a major east-west U.S. highway on the Louisiana-Texas border along the rising Sabine River, officials in both states said.

At least five people have been killed in storms in Southern U.S. states over the past several days that have caused flooding in places including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, forcing thousands of people to flee homes caught in floodwaters.

The closure of the section of Interstate 10 was forcing drivers to take lengthy detours of up to hundreds of miles to traverse the flood-soaked region.

Flooding along the Sabine River that separates Texas and Louisiana has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes. Texas Governor Greg Abbott late on Monday issued a disaster declaration for 17 eastern and southeastern Texas counties.

In Louisiana, state officials said more than 6,000 structures had been damaged by flooding across the state, and new problems were being reported in some areas as rivers continued to rise.

Since last Wednesday, the Louisiana National Guard has rescued more than 4,200 people while the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has rescued another 700 people.

The hardest-hit parts of Texas have been in the southeastern part of the state, where “dozens if not hundreds” of high water rescues have taken place, according to Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Smith.

“It will probably be several days before it crests,” Smith said of the floodwaters, adding that the Sabine River is expected to crest at a level higher that the previous record set in 1882.

In eastern Harrison County in Texas, sheriff’s office Lieutenant Jay Webb said the high waters have raised worries about alligators.

“The nature of alligators is they don’t want to stay in water,” Webb said. “They want to be on higher ground with access to water. With flood levels porch-high, those alligators may be on somebody’s back porch.”

Authorities described the flooding as some of the worst in the region apart from that spawned by hurricanes. President Barack Obama on Sunday declared the flooding in Louisiana a major disaster, activating federal aid.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth; Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in North Carolina; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Will Dunham)

Five dead in storms in U.S. South as floods continue

SHREVEPORT, La. (Reuters) – The death toll from storms in Southern U.S. states rose to five as storm-weary residents of Louisiana and Mississippi watched for more flooding on Monday from drenching rains that inundated homes, washed out roads and prompted thousands of rescues.

Flood waters across Louisiana were blamed for four deaths and damage to at least 5,000 homes, and one person drowned in a flooded area in Oklahoma last week. Flood warnings were in effect as rivers, bayous and creeks stayed high after storms dumped more than 20 inches of rain in some places.

In Louisiana, Harold Worsham, 78, drowned in Saline Bayou when his boat capsized as he tried to remove items from a home as waters rose on Saturday night, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Many rivers and lakes in northern Louisiana have risen to historic levels and homes there face the threat of yet more flooding, said Matt Hemingway, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Shreveport.

“It’s going to take some time for them to fall back down below flood stage,” he said. “Some folks may be in this situation not just days but weeks.”

Authorities and meteorologists described the flooding as some of the worst seen in the region apart from that spawned by hurricanes. President Barack Obama declared flooding in Louisiana a major disaster on Sunday, activating federal aid.

The Louisiana National Guard said it had rescued more than 3,000 people and 300 pets.

Weldon Thomas, who lives in the Lake Bistineau area, said the flood was devastating for many of his neighbors.

“This is the worst flood that these people have ever seen, and some of them have been there 60 or 70 years,” he said. “It’s a tragic situation for everybody.”

In Bossier Parish, several feet of water covered low parts of normally busy Highway 71 and water rose to the top of road signs. Stranded livestock huddled on patches of dry land.

Emergency officials in Mississippi said flooding threatened to close interstates 59 and 10, which they warned could result in major traffic congestion.

As of Sunday afternoon, 185 homes were destroyed or significantly damaged in Mississippi and about 650 more sustained minor damage, according to the state.

Mandatory evacuation orders issued by authorities in the Texas county of Newton, which borders Louisiana, remained in effect for people living near the Sabine River over flood dangers.

(Additional reporting and writing by Colleen Jenkins and Curtis Skinner; Editing by Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish)

Flooding continues across South, more rain on the way

Heavy rains continued to pummel the South on Thursday morning, spurring concerns about more flash flooding in states that have already received more than nine inches of rain this week.

The National Weather Service had issued new flash flood warnings for portions of Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, the four states hit the hardest by this week’s storms.

It also issued numerous other flood warnings and flash flood watches in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys as the storms threatened to bring multiple inches of rain today and tomorrow.

National Weather Service storm reports indicate that Northern Louisiana has seen the heaviest rains since Monday, with more than 17 inches falling at Monroe Regional Airport as of 9 a.m. Thursday. More than 14 inches fell in Bossier City, and Shreveport received more than 10.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in 16 parishes affected by the severe weather. One of them was Bossier Parish, where the local sheriff’s office reported that a mandatory evacuation was ordered for at least 1,000 homes as the Red Chute Bayou rose.

The National Weather Service’s office in Shreveport said that evacuations also occurred in Haughton and Minden, and the floods led to “numerous” road closures and high-water rescues.

Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas also had at least one community where nine or more inches fell, and those states were all experiencing some degree of flooding on Thursday.

The National Weather Service website showed dozens of river gauges in those states were at flood stage, adding that “major flooding” in at least six locations in Texas and Louisiana. Dozens more were near flood stage, and the additional rainfall threatened to push water levels higher.

The heaviest rains are expected along the southern banks of the Mississippi River, and the service said parts of Mississippi and Louisiana could receive five or more additional inches.

Heavy rains spur flash flooding in South, more rain on the way

Portions of three states were under flash flood warnings on Wednesday afternoon as a slow-moving storm brought more heavy rain and damage to the already-waterlogged South.

The National Weather Service issued the warnings for select counties in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, indicating that flash flooding was already occurring in those regions.

The service also issued flash flood watches for other counties in those three states and portions of six others — Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi — cautioning that the inches of additional rain in the forecast could spur rapidly rising waters later this week.

The National Weather Service said Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas are still expected to see the worst of the storms, and could receive more than eight inches of additional rain by week’s end.

The service said each of those three states had at least one community where more than five inches of rain fell between Monday and Wednesday morning. That included more than one foot near Minden, Louisiana, which is located about 35 miles east of Bossier City in Webster Parish.

The Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office shared numerous photographs of flooding on its Facebook page, including a stretch of Interstate 20 that had been completely submerged. Another photo showed a stretch of Methodist Camp Road, which runs through Minden, had been washed out.

In Bossier Parish, authorities were calling for a voluntary evacuation in some flood-prone areas as waters of the Red Chute Bayou and Flat River continued to rise, according to a news release.

The severe weather prompted government offices in Webster, Bossier and four other Northern Louisiana parishes to close early on Wednesday, the state’s commissioner of administration said in a news release. Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech also cancelled classes.

The other areas in the flash flood watches were expected to see less rainfall, but multiple inches were possible. Residents of all of the affected states should monitor their local forecasts.

Flash flood watches issued in four Southern states ahead of thunderstorms

Portions of four Southern states are bracing for the possibility of flash flooding later this week.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued flash flood watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana ahead of a series of thunderstorms that is expected to bring anywhere between three and 10 inches of rain to those regions between Tuesday and Thursday.

The flash flood watch states the heaviest rains are expected in eastern Texas, western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas, increasing the risk of flash flooding in those communities.

The storms are expected to bring lighter precipitation totals across the Great Plains, South and Midwest over the next three days, and National Weather Service forecasts indicate that some parts of Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi could all receive three or more inches of rain.

Residents of all of the affected states are encouraged to monitor their local forecasts.

The service also said there is a slight chance of severe thunderstorms across the Southern Plains tonight, but had yet to issue any watches or warnings for those storms as of 1 p.m. Central time.

The flash flood watches come after California was hit with heavy rains over the weekend.

The National Weather Service’s unofficial totals show more than 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties between Friday morning and Monday morning.

The weekend storms also brought more than two feet of snow and wind gusts that topped 60 mph to some mountainous areas, the service said, including an 88-mph gust near Mount Diablo.

Those topped trees and power lines, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

Utility company PG&E said reported more than 265,000 of its customers in the Bay Area lost power during the storm, though all but 8,700 had their service restored as of Sunday morning.

Radar showed some California communities were receiving additional rain and snow Monday, and the National Weather Service warned that some areas could see another 10 inches of snow.

Supreme Court temporarily blocks Louisiana abortion law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court, two days after hearing a major abortion case from Texas, on Friday temporarily blocked a Louisiana law imposing regulations on doctors who perform abortions in a move that would allow two recently closed clinics to reopen.

In a brief order, the court granted a request by abortion providers seeking to reinstate a lower-court injunction that blocked the Republican-backed 2014 law, which required doctors to obtain a formal affiliation with a local hospital.

The abortion providers contend the law was designed to shut down abortion clinics by requiring hospital “admitting privileges” that are difficult for their doctors to secure.

Louisiana will now have four clinics in total.

The order noted that one of the eight justices, conservative Clarence Thomas, said he would have denied the application.

The order said the court’s action was in line with its decision in June to temporarily block part of a Texas abortion law that was challenged by abortion providers in a high-profile case. The justices heard oral arguments in that case on Wednesday.

The Louisiana law mandates that physicians who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. The regulation matches one in the Texas law.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in January granted a preliminary injunction sought by abortion providers, finding the law violated the constitutional right to an abortion established by the Supreme Court in 1973. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked that decision on Feb. 24, allowing the law to go into effect.

The high court’s action sent mixed signals on how it might rule in the Texas case, in part because the justices previously allowed the Texas admitting privileges provision to go into effect.

The action could suggest the court has greater concerns about admitting privileges requirements than were indicated during Wednesday’s argument in the Texas case. Friday’s move effectively put Louisiana’s law on hold while the justices prepare a ruling, expected by the end of June, in the Texas case.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents abortion providers in both cases, welcomed the court’s action.

“These underhanded tactics to cut off women’s access to safe, legal abortion simply cannot stand,” Northup said.

The Texas case also involves a separate provision that requires clinics to have costly, hospital-grade facilities.

The Louisiana law was signed by Republican then-Governor Bobby Jindal in 2014.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)

Tornadoes kill three in the South, more possible along East Coast

Tornadoes killed at least three people and damaged dozens of homes and businesses as a powerful storm system swept through the Gulf Coast on Tuesday evening, officials said.

More tornadoes were possible along the East Coast today, the National Weather Service warned, saying parts of Virginia and North Carolina had the highest chance of seeing extreme weather.

The service’s Storm Prediction Center received 31 reports of tornadoes in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the Florida panhandle on Tuesday. Some of those reports may reference the same tornado, as several counties had multiple damage summaries listed.

The National Weather Service said one person was killed when a tornado destroyed a mobile home near Purvis, Mississippi. The St. James (Louisiana) Parish’s official Facebook page added that a tornado hit a mobile home park in Convent, killing two people and sending 30 to the hospital with injuries. The storm also damaged about 100 RVs and trailers there, officials wrote.

Elsewhere in Louisiana, the National Weather Service’s reports indicate tornadoes caused “significant damage” to a gym in Ascension Parish and “widespread structural damage” to homes and businesses in St. John the Baptist Parish. There were also several reports of winds knocking down trees and power lines, and one mention of a 120 mph gust near Mandeville.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in seven parishes.

“I ask all Louisianans to pray for the victims of the terrible storms that touched down in Louisiana today and especially at the Sugar Hill RV Park in Convent,” he said in a statement.

Governors in Alabama and Mississippi also declared states of emergency ahead of the storms.

The National Weather Service is expecting strong-to-severe thunderstorms from New York to Florida on Wednesday, but said severe weather was most likely to hit northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia. The service said there was a “moderate risk” of severe thunderstorms in those areas, the second-highest level on a five-tier system, and tornadoes were a possibility.

The service issued several flash flood watches and wind advisories throughout the mid-Atlantic and southeast. Residents in the storm’s path are encouraged to monitor their local forecasts.

‘Christmas Miracle’ Saves Louisiana Couple From Bomb Explosion

A Louisiana couple says it’s a “Christmas miracle” that they were not injured when a bomb that police said was intentionally left at their home exploded, according to several published reports.

“We think it was our Christmas miracle,” Tracy Hewlett told CBS News, adding that she, her husband Bobby and their four pets did not suffer any injuries in the blast early Saturday.

The Hewletts own and live at the Holly Hill Farm Equestrian Center in Benton, Louisiana.

According to the Bossier Sheriff’s Office, one of their maintenance workers named Douglas Holley is accused of making a bomb and detonating it in an attempt to kill the Hewletts. Law enforcement authorities allege Holley placed the bomb in a crawl space below their bedroom.

Tracy Hewlett told The Bossier Press-Tribune that she and her husband were asleep in bed when she saw a huge flash of light and was launched into the air. They were covered with debris, including shards of glass and wood, but were able to leave the house to telephone emergency responders.

“As we walked out, we just looked at each other and said it was a miracle,” Tracy Hewlett told The Bossier Press-Tribune. “We literally stopped, looked up and said, thank you Jesus.”

Tracy Hewlett told the newspaper she and her husband initially thought it might have been a gas explosion, but investigators ultimately determined that the bomb had been placed right below their heads. She said the two of them definitely had “divine protection” to walk away unscathed.

The Bossier Sheriff’s Office said it searched a separate home on the horse farm property where Holley lived and found materials that could be used to make explosives, as well as evidence that he had looked up “bomb-making information.” Police said he worked at the farm for four years, and that his job as a maintenance worker would have allowed him to access the explosion site.

He’s being held on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of bomb making, authorities said in a news release. Authorities did not disclose a motive, but said an investigation found “the explosion was not accidental, but purposely planned and specifically targeted.”

Gunman Kills 2 in Louisiana Movie Theater Shooting

A man police described as a “drifter” opened fire in a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater on Thursday night, killing two and wounding nine before the gunman took his own life as police closed in on the situation.

Police officials say that some of the wounded are in “very critical” condition with “life-threatening” injuries.

According to witnesses, the gunman, 58-year-old John Russell Houser, sat in the back of a showing of the film “Trainwreck.”  About 100 people were in the theater when he stood up shortly after the film started and began to open fire with a handgun.

“The information we have at this time indicates that he was by himself, he sat by himself and the first two people he shot were sitting right in front of him … When he stood up and started firing, people started rushing out. It looks like he spotted the officers coming in and he turned around, went against the crowd and fired a single gunshot,” Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters.

Witnesses told NBC that the shooter said nothing as he carried out his rampage.

Governor Bobby Jindal praised two teachers who were inside the theater for their bravery.  One took a bullet that was heading for the second teacher’s head, the second pulled an alarm.

“Both teachers ended up shot. The second one, the one whose life was saved, even though she was shot in the leg, she had the presence of mind to pull the fire alarm to help save other lives,” he said.

One of the dead has been identified as 21-year-old Mayci Breaux, a pro-life activist who is being remembered as an “amazing young woman.”

Brain Eating Amoeba Found in Louisiana Drinking Water

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has confirmed that the deadly brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri was found in the drinking water of the St. Bernard Parish water system.

The parish has been asked to conduct a 60-day “chlorine burn” to kill off the amoeba.  The parish said they would comply “out of an abundance of caution.”

“At this point that’s a decision that the DHH has to make. We trust their expertise in this field. We do we feel that the system is fine and this was an anomaly,” said St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta.

“One positive test was at a site at the water treatment plant before the water was treated,” reads a statement from the DHH. “The second positive test occurred at 948 Angela Street, which may have been contaminated by ground water due to a leak at the sampling station.”

“Someone hit it. They probably hit it with a car or tractor or lawn mower-never reported it. It pocketed some water, so when they took the sample some of the standing water infiltrated our line. And that’s what gave us a positive indication,” said St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta.

The DHH says that the water is safe to drink, but that people should avoid getting water in their nose when bathing, washing or swimming because that’s the method the amoeba reaches the brain.  Only three people in the world since the discovery of the amoeba have survived an infection.

Meraux homeowner Ashley Jolly told WDSU she was shocked to get an alert about the amoeba in the middle of giving her twin boys a bath.

“They like to play in the water. And they just went through swimming lessons and they’re learning to blow water in and out of their nose and their mouths,” said Jolly.