Hurricane Harvey Louisiana: Cameron Parish Schools Close

CAMERON PARISH, LA — Heavy bands of rain, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, forced all Cameron Parish Schools will be closed through Friday due to Hurricane Harvey, which is now a tropical storm.

The school system made the announcement on its website. Harvey will likely come ashore Wednesday in Cameron Parish around noon, National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Erickson said. An additional 4 to 8 inches of rain is likely across southwest Louisiana, he said. Forecasters project gusts up to 45 mph in coastal areas andup to 35 mph in Lake Charles and along the Interstate 10 corridor.

Tuesday was the 12th anniversary of the landfall of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. Harvey's impact in Louisiana was nothing compared to the toll in Texas, but a heavy band of rainfall Monday night proved too much for some Lake Charles neighborhoods, pushing water into houses that local residents said they'd never seen flood. Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate from a neighborhood in Lake Charles, sometimes in chest-deep water. (For more information on Harvey and other Louisiana stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Watch: Some Of The Many Ways You Can Help Harvey Victims

Erickson warned that some coastal rivers won't be able to drain rains effectively because Harvey's winds are pushing storm surge into coastal waters, aggravating flooding in places that have already received more than 20 inches of rain.

Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate from a neighborhood in Lake Charles, sometimes in chest-deep water.

Harvey is turning north and picking up speed. Should remain a weak tropical storm as it makes landfall Wednesday morning in Cameron Parish. pic.twitter.com/PjFnzteQqL
— Chris Cozart KLFY (@CozartKLFY) August 29, 2017

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