Last week, there was a fair bit of rain all across the south, even breaking records in some places. However, one location, particular, was severely impacted by the massive amount of rain that has left a large portion of the south covered.
Monroe, Louisiana received a record amount of just under 27 inches of rain. The flooding has left many homes flooded and it has even been reported that due to the mass water pressure, a sewage line burst causing the rain water to mix with raw sewage. To make matters even worse, with the increase in temperatures, mosquitoes could become a problem, the drying puddles providing perfect places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. However, these aren't just run-of-the-mill mosquitoes.
The threat lies in the potential increase in Asian Tiger mosquitoes, which can carry many diseases such as Zika, and flood water mosquitoes which have very painful bites. As a result, locals are encouraged to wear bug spray before leaving their homes and to wear longer sleeved clothing to help ward off the insects.
In addition to the mosquito population moving even further into Monroe, there has even been video footage of fish swimming on the roads due to the mass amount of water, and many of the forests have been turned into swamps.
With the flooding of thousands of homes, many have been forced to seek shelter at one fo the three near-capacity shelters in Monroe. Even a church, which had raised nearly half a million dollars to build a modern day-care was completely flooded. Many homes have been completely damaged by the water and at least three people have died so far, including a 7 year old child, making the recent flooding a deadly mark on Louisiana's history.