Floods take a Louisiana Army National Guard truck away.

A Louisiana Army National Guard dump truck was swept away and submerged in flood waters near Walker. (MAX BECHERER/AP)

Rsidents began to return to water-ravaged homes Tuesday in Baton Rouge, La., after days of heavy rain submerged large stretches of southern Louisiana, killing 11 and prompting rescues of tens of thousands of people.

Nearly 15,000 homes across Ascension — roughly a third of the households in the parish — were flooded, said Richard Webre, director of the parish’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. About 800 parish residents were in shelters.

The Louisiana flooding is likely the worst natural disaster in the United States since Superstorm Sandy hammered the East Coast in 2012, according to the Red Cross. More than 10,600 people have sought refuge at Red Cross shelters across Louisiana, and the disaster relief organization estimates that its response efforts could cost as much as $10 million. 

Harrowing rescues were posted on social media as emergency rescue teams continued to evacuate residents Monday in East Baton Rouge, Livingston and Ascension parishes. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office shared footage taken from a helicopter Monday of rescuers saving a man from waist-high floodwater and two men clinging to a tree. The men were attempting to leave their flooded home in a residential neighborhood when they were caught in the current. A civilian in a boat rescued the man from the water, and sheriff’s deputies pulled the other two from the tree.

So far, local and state officials have reported that nine people have died as a result of flooding – four in East Baton Rouge Parish, two in St. Helena Parish, two in Tangipahoa Parish, and one in Rapides Parish. On Tuesday, Edwards said that volunteers and law enforcement officers had rescued "well over" 20,000 residents.

Edwards said emergency crews in Livingston and Ascension parishes were beginning to coordinate door-to-door search-and-rescue operations in flooded areas to check and mark homes, as well as cars that had washed off roadways.

 “It’s going to be difficult,” he said. “We have a lot of pockets of water that make it very difficult to get into those places and search those places.”

By Jenny Jarvie

2 Navy pilots eject before jet crashes in Texas

PREMONT, Texas — A Navy instructor and a student pilot ejected themselves from a T-45 Goshawk before it crashed in a South Texas field during a training flight from Naval Air Station Kingsville.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused the T-45 to crash Sunday night in a rural area near Premont, about 17 miles southwest of Kingsville.

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi spokeswoman Lt. J.G. Liz Feaster says one pilot suffered minor injuries and was still being treated Monday, while the other pilot was not injured.

Coast Guard responds to Baton Rouge flooding

U.S. Coast Guard members rescue locals from flood water on their flat-bottom boats in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Aug. 14, 2016. The Coast Guard sent water and air assets to assist the victims in the Baton Rouge area. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles)

BATON ROUGE, LA, UNITED STATES

08.14.2016

Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles 

U.S. Coast Guard District 8 

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jon Tatroe helps members from a flooded assisted living home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday. The Coast Guard sent water and air assets to assist the victims in the Baton Rouge area. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles

Coast Guard members prepare to deploy their flat bottom boats in response to flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday. The Coast Guard sent water and air assets to assist victims in the Baton Rouge area. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles)

Coast Guard members head into the water with their flat-bottom boats to assist locals during the flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday. The Coast Guard sent water and air assets to assist the victims in the Baton Rouge area. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class brandon Giles

U.S. Marines aid wounded driver

Staff Sergeant Kurt Wiborn, a Marine recruiter with Recruiting Sub-Station Cadillac, is pictured here in his Dress Blue uniform. Wiborn and a fellow Marine aided first responders after a single-vehicle accident in Sherman Township, Mich., Aug. 8. (Courtesy photo, Kurt Wiborn)

LANSING, MI, UNITED STATES
08.12.2016
Story by Capt. James Stenger
9th Marine Corps District

LANSING, Mich. - Two United States Marines assisted first responders Monday after a vehicle veered off a road in Sherman Township, Michigan, at approximately 6 p.m.

Staff Sergeants Kurt Wiborn and Justin Hass, Marine recruiters in Cadillac, Michigan, were driving to an appointment when they came upon the immediate aftermath of what appeared to be a single car accident.

The Marines, in their Dress Blue Delta uniforms, pulled over and immediately exited their vehicle to render assistance to the driver who had been expelled, Wiborn said.

“We did not witness the actual crash, but could tell the man flipped his vehicle,” Wiborn recalled. “We noticed a vehicle in the middle of the road. We then parked and ran to the man that was bleeding and lying on the road.”

The Marines realized they could utilize some of their combat lifesaving training to help.

“The man had multiple injuries and kept screaming about his leg. We stabilized his leg and held it into position until the ambulance showed up. We then helped by slowly rolling the man up onto his side so we could place the board underneath him. We then helped strap him onto the board when one of the EMT’s placed a neck brace on the man,” Wiborn said.

According to Wiborn, a Springport, Michigan, native, his and Hass’s actions were the result of being in the right place at the right time and having the courage to stop when others might have kept driving.

SPANGDAHLEM, GERMANY Cheers, Mate: Sabers host RAF Air Cadets

Members of Air Cadets, a United Kingdom-wide youth group sponsored by the Royal Air Force, watch as a 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire engine drives out of a garage during a tour at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 9, 2016. Air Cadets received a guided tour of base assets from members of the 52nd Fighter Wing Community Relations, 52nd Maintenance Group and 52nd CES to include the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft and fire department. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Cherry/Released)

SPANGDAHLEM, RP, GERMANY

08.09.2016

Photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Cherry 

52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs 

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Vasquez, a 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department crew chief, center, gives Royal Air Force Air Cadets a look at a fire engine during a tour on the flightline at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 9, 2016. Air Cadets received a guided tour of base assets from members of the 52nd Fighter Wing Community Relations, 52nd Maintenance Group and 52nd CES to include the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft and fire department. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Cherry/Released)

Members of Air Cadets, a United Kingdom-wide youth group sponsored by the Royal Air Force, listen in during a tour of the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 9, 2016. Air Cadets receive opportunities to travel in Europe and abroad to many areas including military installations, museums and other various sites while aiming to develop qualities of leadership and good citizenship. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Cherry/Released)

Members of Air Cadets, a United Kingdom-wide youth group sponsored by the Royal Air Force, received a guided tour of the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department’s gym during a visit to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 9, 2016. Air Cadets receive opportunities to travel in Europe and abroad to many areas including military installations, museums and other various sites while aiming to develop qualities of leadership and good citizenship. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Cherry/Released)