NEW ORLEANS, March 10 (UPI) — At least three people died in the southern United States due to a storm system that led the governor of Louisiana to declare a state of emergency on Wednesday.
Most of the storm’s damage was in Louisiana, where about 3,500 homes have been evacuated due to widespread flooding. Rainfall was expected to continue on Thursday.
Since the storm moved into the United States from Mexico on Monday, one man died in Texas after his kayak capsized. On Tuesday night, a a driver died in Oklahoma when he tried to drive his vehicle over a flooded bridge. In Louisiana, a man drowned when his vehicle was swept into Saline Creek.
More than 16 inches of rain has fallen in the hardest-hit areas that include Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
After a foot of rain fell in areas across northern Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards deployed the National Guard to assist with water rescues and declared a state of emergency in 16 parishes. Road closures have also been announced due to significant damage.
The National Weather Service warns of heavy rains and flash flooding that were expected to continue on Thursday.
“Moisture, instability, and upper-level dynamics will be greatest across the lower Mississippi valley and portions of the southern plains, and this is where the potential will continue for very heavy rainfall with the potential for more flash flooding,” the NWS said in a statement.
