The Latest: Mayor: Flooding damages a few Lake Charles homes

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Latest on Harvey's effects in Louisiana (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

The mayor of Lake Charles says floodwaters from Harvey's heavy rains have damaged a few homes in the southwest Louisiana city.

Mayor Nic Hunter says fewer than a dozen Lake Charles homes had been damaged as of Monday afternoon, but the number is likely to rise as torrential rains continue to batter the region this week.

Hunter says roughly 35 to 40 people were staying at a shelter opened by the city. Some of them had been displaced from flooded homes.

Kent Kuyper, a Nation Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles, said about 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain was expected to fall Monday in southwest Louisiana.

1:10 p.m.

Louisiana's governor says potential flooding from Harvey's torrential rains poses a "dangerous situation," but the state hasn't received any reports yet of flood-damaged homes.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a press briefing Monday that he expects the potential for flood damage to increase as bands of rain continue to lash the southwestern part of the state.

The governor said Louisiana has offered to take in evacuees from Texas and to offer them shelter.

Edwards said the Louisiana National Guard has staged high-water vehicles and boats but so far hasn't had to deploy any on search and rescue missions in southwest Louisiana.

The governor said about 20 people, including eight from Texas, spent the night in a shelter in Rapides Parish.

1 p.m.

Bands of sometimes-heavy rain from Tropical Storm Harvey have prompted a flash flood watch for all of southeast Louisiana — reaching into southwest Mississippi.

The watch issued Monday morning is expected to last through Thursday.

Harvey has caused catastrophic flooding in southeast Texas. And southwest Louisiana, where parts of some low-lying parishes were evacuated last week, is under a flash flood warning as heavy rain from the storm continues.

The heavy rains have New Orleans on edge.

Flash floods in sections of the city early this month during a heavy rain caught officials by surprise. They also revealed problems with the city's drainage pump system. Repairs and improvements are underway. But officials acknowledge that the system is still not operating at full capacity.

11:45 a.m.

New Orleans residents arrived at fire stations across the city Monday to get sandbags for their homes as outer bands of heavy rain from Harvey began heading east from Houston.

The city's pump and drainage system is still not working at full capacity. Emotions are running high for many, especially those whose homes flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Ray Gratia on Monday was picking up sandbags for his New Orleans home, which flooded during Katrina. He said Harvey's devastation in Texas and its turn toward Louisiana evokes strong emotions.

Harvey, the more fearsome hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade, came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 4 storm. It has caused catastrophic flooding in Texas.

10 a.m.

An emergency response official in southwest Louisiana says the threat of flooding from Harvey's torrential rains could be "new ground for us."

Danny Lavergne, director of Cameron Parish's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said about 30 roads in the parish were covered with water but remained passable Monday morning. But he added that it was "early in the game," with more heavy rain in the forecast.

Cameron Parish has roughly 6,800 residents living in the coastal community, which was devastated by storm surge from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008.

This time, Lavergne says the greatest threat is the sheer volume of rainwater.

Kent Kuyper, a Nation Weather Service meteorologist in Lake Charles, said about 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain was expected to fall Monday in southwest Louisiana.

8:15 a.m.

President Donald Trump has issued a federal emergency declaration for Louisiana as Harvey dumps heavy bands of rain on the state.

Trump's emergency declaration on Monday initially covers five parishes in southwest Louisiana: Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis and Vermillion.

A White House statement says the action authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts. The declaration also authorizes the federal government to cover 75 percent of costs of certain emergency protective measures.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards requested the declaration in a letter to the White House on Sunday.

Edwards said life-saving efforts such as search and rescue and shelters will be needed, especially in southwest Louisiana where forecasters say 10 to 20 inches of rain could fall.

6:30 a.m.

Tornado and flash flood watches covered parts of southwest Louisiana as Harvey began dropping torrential rains on Louisiana.

The National Weather Service radar for the Lake Charles area early Monday was lit up in orange and red where heavy rains from one of Harvey's outer bands streamed from the Gulf of Mexico onto the Louisiana coast.

The storm was centered on Matagorda Bay off the Texas coast and moving slowly southeast.

Forecasters said early Monday that a "conveyer belt" of moisture is expected to drop another 10 to 15 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of rain expected across southeast Louisiana. They said that up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of additional rain is expected across central and south central Louisiana through Thursday afternoon.

Tornadoes could also threaten southwest Louisiana, which was under a tornado watch Monday.

5:45 a.m.

Louisiana's governor is asking President Donald Trump for a federal emergency declaration for Louisiana since forecasters expect Harvey to cause significant damage in the state.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said he sent a letter to the White House requesting the initial disaster declaration for five parishes in southwest Louisiana, and could add more areas to the request later.

Edwards said life-saving efforts such as search and rescue and shelters will be needed, especially in southwest Louisiana where forecasters say 10 to 20 inches of rain could fall.

Harvey, the more fearsome hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade, came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 4 storm. The slow-moving storm has caused catastrophic flooding in Texas.