BATON ROUGE, La. — At least 40,000 homes were damaged and 10 people killed in the historic Louisiana floods, the governor said Tuesday.
Gov. John Bel Edwards spoke at a news conference alongside FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, saying "well over" 20,000 people have been rescued since the flooding began Friday. His office later increased that figure to more than 30,000.
Beginning Friday, a torrent of about 2 feet of rain inundated the southern part of the state over a 48-hour period, and days later, many homes and businesses were still underwater.
While some areas were entering recovery mode, the governor warned new places downstream could see flooding and that officials are still in search and rescue mode.
"I don't know we have a good handle on the number of people who are missing," the governor said.
Some residents returned to their flood-damaged homes for the first time and found a soggy mess.
In today's Democrat-Gazette
[WATCH: Videos from The Advocate in Baton Rouge show bird's-eye view of Louisiana floods]
David Key used a small boat to get to his house in Prairieville and said it had taken on 5 inches of "muddy nasty bayou water." There were fish and thousands of spiders. And mold has started to set in.
"I'm not going to lie, I cried uncontrollably," he said. "But you have to push forward and make it through. Like everybody says, you still have your family."
The extent of damage was coming into clearer view. About 40,000 people had signed up for FEMA assistance and eight more parishes were added to the federal disaster declaration, bringing the total number to 12.
In Livingston Parish, one of the hardest-hit areas with about 138,000 people, an official estimated that 75 percent of the homes were a "total loss."
But Lori Steele, spokesman for the Livingston Parish sheriff's office, was upbeat, saying the rescues taking place now are less of a "life-saving nature" and more to help people who were running low on supplies in flooded areas. As the main roads drain, emergency crews were going to be able get hot meals, water and medical supplies to the 25 shelters in the parish.
"We're tired but today's a good day," she said.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.