BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – East Baton Rouge Parish leaders issued a warning regarding the significant rainfall that impacted the region and surrounding areas Sunday, Jan. 29.
According to a news release from the Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, as of 3 p.m., local first responders have assisted at least 15 motorists who were trapped in stalled vehicles, and at least 15 roads in the parish have been closed due to high water.
The update from MOHSEP went on to cite the National Weather Service New Orleans/Baton Rouge as estimating that the parish sustained approximately 2-4” of rainfall in less than a three-hour timespan.
Weather experts believe the showers will continue in East Baton Rouge throughout the evening with an additional 1” of rainfall forecasted.
That said, the NWS believes the worst of conditions have passed.
But officials continue to urge caution.
“As widespread rainfall and flash flooding continues in our area, please do not drive through flooded roadways or around barricades placed for your safety,” Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said. “Please pay attention to local weather forecasts and stay off the roadways if possible during heavy rain events.”
Stay up to date on the latest weather conditions by watching the WVLA/WGMB weather forecast or by following @BRProudNews on Twitter.