Torrential rainfall in Louisana over the last few days has resulted in widespread devastation across the state.
Governor John Bel Edwards has called for federal emergency relief funds after floods have reportedly killed at least three people.
Emergency crews pulled residents out of flooded homes, swamped cars and threatened medical facilities in cities and towns across the southern part of the state.
Governor Edwards claimed that over 20,000 people have been rescued so far, while there are reports of 1,000 vehicles stranded on Interstate 12 near Albany with drivers and passengers still trapped inside, and rescue vehicles and boats unable to reach them due to alternating water levels preventing an uninterrupted route to them.
About 5,000 people were forced to sleep in shelters on Saturday night.
Parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast are expected to be hit with further rain and rising waters.
Video content below by CNN
CNN photog Mark Biello was a heroic reporter & rescuer during Katrina. Now he's covering this new Louisiana flood https://t.co/hi7uQKM75F
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 14, 2016
