Unusually widespread flooding drowns Louisiana, Mississippi
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- As the Leaf River rose north of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 26-year-old Rebecca Bruce and her fiancé grabbed what they could and left the shed where they live. The water was more than two feet deep indoors when they left, she said.
"We lost everything," Bruce said Saturday. "I've got a book bag full of dirty clothes, and I was lucky to get that."
Bruce was among about 20 people in a Red Cross shelter in the Forrest County Community Center on Saturday, as creeks and rivers continued to rise after torrential rains pounded the Deep South. It was one of nine shelters open in Mississippi and 24 in Louisiana.
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Downpours -- part of a system affecting Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama -- submerged roads and cars, washed out bridges and forced residents to flee homes.
In Bossier City, Louisiana, CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reported floodwater was seeping through sandbags in low lying, vulnerable areas along a levee which protects 3,500 homes. The Red Chute Bayou rose seven inches overnight.
The home of Chris Smith and his wife Laura backs up to the levee. They were told to evacuate, but have chosen not to. For Laura, it was a very personal decision.
"I had surgery on Monday. To have a hysterectomy to get rid of cervical cancer and so I was advised not to travel," she told Begnaud. "And so we made the decision if it got high enough we'll leave, but right now we'll stay put."
"The Red Cross called me yesterday asking if I could help with a disaster in the area and I told them I have to worry about my own home before I help others right now," Chris said.