At Least 5 Killed And 20,000+ Rescued In Louisiana Flooding
COOPER: The flooding danger is far from over in southern Louisiana tonight. Rivers continue to rise along with fatalities. We've also seen breathtaking stories of survival caught on camera. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray reports.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to break this window.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're breaking the window.</s>JENNIFER GRAY, AMS CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 20,000 people have been rescued since last week as deadly floodwaters have prompted a state of emergency across south Louisiana.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get my dog.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her dog.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get my dog.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got your dog.</s>GRAY: The massive flooding has claimed the lives of at least five people, devastating entire communities which are now under water.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This car is under the water.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's as high as I've ever seen it. I've been in this area since 1983.</s>GRAY: Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes and chilling images like this coast guard rescue of a child remind many in the region of hurricane Katrina's horrific aftermath a decade ago.</s>REGGIE WADE, BATON ROUGE RESIDENT: These are all my neighbors that ended up getting a nice dose of, "No, this couldn't happen," in reality it can.</s>GRAY: Reggie Wade has lived in the southeast Baton Rouge neighborhood for 24 years.</s>WADE: I've never seen it get up in this yard above the carport. And carports are all under water along with the entire house.</s>GRAY: The Louisiana National Guard has deployed almost 2,000 soldiers to assist local first responders with search and rescue efforts, and with more than 24 inches of rain falling in the area since last week. They know they are up against the clock.</s>KIP HOLDEN, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA MAYOR-PRESIDENT: It is still very, very dangerous. We still have waters rising in a number of areas. All of our people are still on high alert.</s>GRAY: And most of the rivers have crested in this area as all of this water heads down to the south. However, a lot of those rivers are going to hold at crest stage for a couple of days, possibly, so it could be the end of the week before some people are able to get back in their homes. Some of the homes behind me have water chest-deep, Anderson. It looks like we are going to stay mainly dry for the next couple of days aside from a few spotty afternoon showers, but a long road ahead for people in south Louisiana.</s>COOPER: Let's hope they get fast -- help fast. Jennifer Gray, thanks for being there. Joining us now on the phone, the man we just heard from in Jennifer's report, the mayor, president of -- mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Kip Holden. Mayor, thanks so much for being with us. First of all, what is your biggest concern right now, the biggest need?</s>HOLDEN: Well, right now it's still making sure that people are adequately sheltered, making sure that we're watching and still checking to see what happens to the water. For example, this afternoon, we had to send fire and rescue people out to an area that had been underwater for all of these days to check homes to make sure no people are left in those homes. So, there are a multitude of things going on. We're trying to prioritize those and still deliver the service to people in shelters as well and get people food.</s>COOPER: I mean, all the rescue efforts, just incredible to see, not only by first responders, trained first responders, but also the civilians are out there in boats rescuing people. The residents who have been evacuated, how are they, where are they right now? What kind of facilities are there for them?</s>HOLDEN: Well, for example, for special needs individuals, they're at LSU, in a center there. We have people at our center in downtown, so we have people there, frankly and virtually, in a lot -- some churches and southern university as well. So we are taking the space that we're getting and still trying to make sure we're accommodating people and not putting them from one side of town to another or another parish. Trying to make sure they are centralized. But I can tell you, still we'll be doing this for another several days including an abandoned studio. They are not shooting any movies there right now yet they opened up sound stages to say here are places where you can bring people as well. So, people are responding to our need in order to get people located in Baton Rouge. But at the same time, it's not just Baton Rouge, it's several other parishes surrounding us and many of those parishes, frankly, have greater damage than we do. So it's a lot of work that has to go in before we could stand back up. But yet, even months down the line, there will be a lot of work to do in all of these parishes.</s>COOPER: I've heard you say one of the toughest things you've seen is firefighters carrying out the elderly, the sick people, you know, through floodwaters to safety. What do you tell people who have to leave their homes? Because a lot of folks, obviously, don't want to leave their homes, are scared to leave their home.</s>HOLDEN: Well, frankly, we've had just the opposite. A lot of people have called for help and are still calling for help. So we have this partnership going, because there's a mutual trust that's been here based upon all the storms that we've had. And so therefore, they go in to take care of them but at the same time, we make sure people are patrolling those areas to give that extra part of security to them to let them know that we're taking care of them at all levels. But I can tell you that bond between the rescuers and those who have been rescued is very, very tight.</s>COOPER: And I just got word that now, we believe, the death toll is raised to eight confirmed fatalities. Mayor Holden, I appreciate all you're doing. Thank you so much for taking time to talk to us. We wish you and the folk there ...</s>HOLDEN: And we thank you all so much for showing the flight of people here. And may God bless each and every one of you for showing and letting people know what we're going through.</s>COOPER: Well, we love Louisiana. Thank you so much, Mayor. Up next, Milwaukee on alert facing a third night of protests following a deadly police shooting. Can the situation be contained tonight? A live report next.