LAPLACE, La. (WGNO) — Rescuers arrived in the St. John to Baptist Parish town of LaPlace Monday in boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters.
Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for the governor, said search and rescue began in high water problem spots like Lafitte, LaPlace, the west bank of Jefferson Parish and the Houma/Thibodaux areas.
The state had more than 1,000 people conducting search and rescue operations, and many more local search and rescue operations were up and running as well.
In many cases, people living amid the maze of rivers and bayous along the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to their attics or roofs and posted their addresses on social media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams on where to find them.
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KENNER, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 30: Angelina Coxum walks down a flooded street to check on a relatives home after Hurricane Ida passed through on August 30, 2021 in Kenner, Louisiana. Ida made landfall yesterday as a category 4 storm southwest of New Orleans. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) -
A Louisiana National Guard truck assists people in Laplace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021 after Hurricane Ida made landfall. – Powerful Hurricane Ida battered the southern US state of Louisiana, leaving at least one dead and knocking out power for more than a million people, including the whole of New Orleans. Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm on August 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but had weakened to a tropical storm early August 30, 2021.The storm knocked out power for all of New Orleans, with more than a million customers across Louisiana without power, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) -
A Louisiana National Guard helicopter assists people in Laplace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021 after Hurricane Ida made landfall. – Powerful Hurricane Ida battered the southern US state of Louisiana, leaving at least one dead and knocking out power for more than a million people, including the whole of New Orleans. Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm on August 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but had weakened to a tropical storm early August 30, 2021.The storm knocked out power for all of New Orleans, with more than a million customers across Louisiana without power, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) -
People walk through flood waters in Norco, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021 after Hurricane Ida made landfall. – Powerful Hurricane Ida battered the southern US state of Louisiana, leaving at least one dead and knocking out power for more than a million people, including the whole of New Orleans. Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm on August 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but had weakened to a tropical storm early August 30, 2021.The storm knocked out power for all of New Orleans, with more than a million customers across Louisiana without power, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Stephens said only one death has been confirmed from Ida, but she cautioned that based on the widespread destruction: “We’re going to have many more confirmed fatalities.”
The Louisiana National Guard said it activated 4,900 Guard personnel and lined up 195 high-water vehicles, 73 rescue boats and 34 helicopters. Local and state agencies were adding hundreds of more.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)