(REUTERS) Emergency crews have rescued more than 7,000 people stranded in Louisiana by historic flooding that has killed at least three people and submerged whole communities, Governor John Bel Edwards said on Sunday (August 14), as the U.S. Gulf Coast braced for more rain and rising waters.
Stranded residents have been pulled out of flooded homes and swamped cars in cities and towns across the southern part of the state, said Edwards, who has called for federal emergency relief funds.
Some 1,700 members of the Louisiana National Guard also have been deployed throughout the southern part of the state for rescue efforts and that number is expected to rise to 2,500 as requests for aid roll in.
Emergency officials were still working on strategies to rescue an undetermined number of other people trapped by the waters.
Patients from several hospitals and nursing homes were saved from threatening waters overnight, Louisiana State Police Colonel Michael Edmonson said.
Helicopters were deploying food and water to those still trapped by floods and many roadways were been closed or blocked off by water and debris.
The National Weather Service (NWS) on Sunday maintained a flash flood watch for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi and extended it to southeastern Texas, including the city of Houston, where rains left at least eight dead in late April.
More rains were expected in southern Louisiana, with NWS forecasting on its website that another 2-6 inches (5-15 cm) were possible on Sunday night in some areas.