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Louisiana Flooding: "Plenty Bad"

Sue Lincoln
Governor John Bel Edwards' flooding press conference, Aug. 15

Hundreds of miles of south Louisiana is under water.

“I don’t want to say it’s worse than a hurricane – it’s just plenty bad,” Governor John Bel Edwards stated Sunday at the Emergency Ops briefing for the media.

The governor, who evacuated from the mansion due to flooding, says despite the rains easing up, this is far from over.

“This is a serious event. It is ongoing,” Edwards stated succinctly. “It is not over. Waters are going to continue to rise in many areas, and as those waters move towards the south, we’re going to see more and more areas inundated with water.”

One of the greatest difficulties is that they can’t accurately predict where or when the flooding will shift.

“The simple fact of the matter here is, we’re breaking records. The National Weather Service cannot tell you what you can expect in the way of the floodwaters – how wide they’re going to be and how deep they’re going to be,” the governor explained.

Officials like DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson continue to urge residents who are safe to stay home.

“Folks are going to want to get out and go places. Please don’t,” Wilson asked. “We’ve got over 30 washouts on our system – and that’s just the state roads. We have over 200 closures, not accessible because of high water. And I will tell you that we’ve got over 14-hundred critical bridges, that after any event like this, we have to inspect.”

Even though the governor insists the state is still in response mode, with ongoing rescues and expanding shelter capacity, he is starting to look ahead toward recovery.

“We’re not in control has to how fast these flood waters recede, so we’re asking everyone to be patient,” Edwards said. “We have FEMA on the ground, as we speak. And it’s very important for everyone out there to document the damage that you sustain from this flood event. Take pictures – that’s the easiest thing.”

He also asksed that people keep showing just what Louisiana is made of.

“You know, we always knew Louisiana was full of good people, and we’re seeing that right now,” the governor said, with what – during this crisis – is a rare smile.

“We just have a lot of people being good neighbors.”