State officials say the recent storm, which dumped more than 33 inches of rain on central Louisiana, has killed at least 11 people and damaged more than 40,000 homes — and more than 34,000 homes are without power, reports Kayla Ruble.
Unlike the major failures of the levee system around New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this time, the floodwaters simply overwhelmed the Laurel Ridge levee that acts as a barrier for the Baton Rouge area, notes Ruble, with officials stressing the fact that the latest rise in water levels is unprecedented.
The Red Cross has characterized the flooding as the worst natural disaster in the U.S. since Hurricane Sandy.
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