Heavy rain in the forecast for one more day

Staff Report
St. Mary Parish is under a coastal flood advisory until Friday night, while the parish, along with Lower St. Martin Parish, are under a flash flood watch through 1 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service reported.
There is a 90% chance of rain Friday, with thunderstorms possible prior to noon. With it is possibly heavy rain. From noon to 4 p.m. primarily, showers and thunderstorms are possible. Rainfall totals are pegged at between 0.75 inches and 1 inch.
Winds accompanying the rain are expected to be 15 to 20 mph, and gusts could reach 30 mph.
The chance of rain and thunderstorms is 20% prior to 8 p.m. Friday. Winds are expected to be 10 to 15 mph, with gusts reaching 20 mph.
The coastal flood advisory will last until 10 p.m. Friday.
From 8 a.m. Thursday until 8 a.m. Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Berwick Locks gauge recorded 1.1 inches of rain.
In lower St. Martin Parish, Stephensville Road at its intersection with La. 70 and Bayou Estates Subdivision were closed to non-residents Thursday due to high water from heavy rainfall in recent days.
The closures were in addition to Adell and Edna streets and Landry Lane, which have been closed.
St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said in a St. Martin Parish government Facebook video Thursday that beginning May 10 until Thursday, the parish has experienced “torrential rainfall” daily.
He said the parish has estimated from gauges in their region that many areas have had a total of 10 inches during that time.
“This week, Monday alone, May 17, we saw anywhere from 4 to 10 inches of rain, and some areas, probably 12 inches over a course of a few hours,” he said.
Daily since Monday, 3 to 4 inches of rain have fallen rapidly, Cedars said.
In lower St. Martin Parish, sand bag stations are available at Stephensville Park, 3257 La. 70; and in Belle River across from the fire station at 1473 East Stephensville Road.
Earlier this week, Cedars issued a State of Emergency for the parish due to the rains.
A no-wake zone also was issued in Stephensville and Belle River until further notice.
Cedars encouraged the public to let the parish know where they have seen major flooding that may jeopardize property or roadways.
He said anyone who has experienced any damage should contact the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness at 337-394-2808 so they can gather information to submit to the state for possible individual help.
Those who have suffered damage in the weather also can report it through the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness’ digital damage assessment. That is available at damage.la.gov. With this information, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a release, the state can request help from the federal government for flood recovery.
“Federal relief is not guaranteed, and it is too early to know if any aid will be available, but the first step of the recovery process is assessing the level of damage across the state,” Edwards said in the release.
Damage also should be reported to insurance companies. Also, the survey is limited to structures and does not include vehicles.
Those who need assistance filling out the survey should call 211.