Death Toll Rises in La. as Thousands Flooded Out of Homes

More than 11,000 people were staying in shelters

Rain continued to fall over parts of Louisiana on Tuesday, adding to the devastation of days of flooding in towns and parishes across the state.

The confirmed statewide death toll rose to 11, a levee was overtopped in one parish and more than three-quarters of the homes were lost in another parish, authorities said Tuesday.

Eight more parishes were added to the existing federal disaster zone, for a total of 20, and overnight curfews were in effect for more than a dozen cities and parishes, NBC News reported.

The Ascension Parish Homeland Security Office confirmed that floodwaters were slopping over the top of the Laurel Ridge levee, which protects the parish in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, from the Amite River.

Officials issued a voluntary evacuation advisory for parts of the parish, where the water is expected to continue rising after already having flooded a third of the parish's 45,000 homes.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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