Severe thunderstorms affected Louisiana and Mississippi during the weekend, causing floods in the lower Mississippi valley. As a result, it damaged about 5,000 thousand homes and reportedly claimed at least four lives.
According to meteorologists, the flood went as high as two feet in certain areas, damaging about 400 homes in Mississippi. Three people in Louisiana and one in Oklahoma were reported to have died. Emergency authorities also said that two fishermen in Mississippi went missing.
The calamity is considered to be the harshest flooding the region has seen other than the catastrophes that hurricanes bring.
The Louisiana National Guard reportedly rescued 3,295 citizens and 316 pets, where 1,300 proceeded with the evacuation efforts using vehicle, boat and helicopter. They also provided shelter for the victims.
A victim named Brenda Maddox had to leave her home of 26 years because of the flood, where she and her husband packed enough clothes to last for four days on Thursday. They went back the day after on Friday to get their car with the intent to wait until the rain subsided at an RV park.
"We'd heard we'd get a lot of rain, but it all came so sudden. We hate to leave, but we thought we'd get out while we can," the New York Times reported as Maddox's statement.
President Barack Obama declared it a major disaster, triggering federal aid for the people affected by the flooding.
One matter of concern that Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser expressed is how the victims may not have flood insurance to recover from the tragedy.
"A lot of these people I spoke to did not have flood insurance because they had never flooded before," Nungesser tells the Washington Post in a phone interview, pointing out that they might not receive any federal aid if they don't have insurance.
Numerous roads and bridges were barred across the region during the weekend because of the flooding and rainfall.
As of reporting , authorities are monitoring the rise of Pearl River that divides Mississippi and Louisiana. Experts predict the river to reach 21 feet, endangering around 200 houses around Pearlington.
