Gov. John Bel Edwards says more than 10,000 people are in shelters and more than 20,000 people have been rescued from their homes due to flooding across south Louisiana.
As The Associated Press reports, one of those shelters is the Baton Rouge River Center, which was opened Sunday night to handle the large numbers of evacuees. Celtic Studios has also taken on nearly two thousand people displaced by flooding.
The Louisiana Department of Health has opened a special needs shelter in the field house on the LSU campus for those affected by the flooding in the Baton Rouge area. Spokesman Bob Johannessen says the shelter is for people with special medical conditions. The shelter is designed for individuals who are homebound, chronically ill or who have disabilities and are in need of medical or nursing care, and have no other place to get care.
Those seeking shelter will be screened by nurses to determine the level of care needed, Johannessen adds, and only people who meet admission criteria can be sheltered. If a person’s condition is too critical, they will be referred to a hospital for sheltering or admission. If their condition isn’t severe enough for the medical special needs shelter, they’ll be referred to a general shelter.
As of this morning, Louisiana State Police say more than 280 state roads are closed due to high water, including Interstate 12 between Airline Highway and Interstate 55 in both directions. Interstate 10 is closed in both directions between U.S. 65 and Interstate 49, as well as between Siegen Lane and La. 73.
The National Weather Service says the rivers in the Baton Rouge area have started to fall, but still remain above flood stage after setting record levels over the weekend. Forecaster Mike Efferson at the weather service office in Slidell, says the rivers and streams north of I-12 have crested and have started to drop, while those south of the interstate continue to rise.
Efferson says the Comite River just east of Baton Rouge on this morning dropped nearly 2 feet from the 34.2-feet level over the weekend. Flood stage is 20 feet. He says Amite River at Denham Springs is at 43.5 feet  this morning after reaching 46.2 feet. Flood stage is 29 feet.
Efferson says the area around Baton Rouge could see up to a half-inch of rain today, with a 40% to 50% chance in the forecast. The Baton Rouge area remains under a flood watch until 4 p.m., but Efferson says it likely will be extended.
The Associated Press has more flooding updates. See a list of road closures as of 8:30 a.m. this morning.
