Viral videos show wild weather battering Louisiana

Louisiana has been battered by wild weather, with some parts of the state saturated by a month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours. Flash-flooding from the storms hit hardest in Baton Rouge, where one man died after trying to escape his sinking car.However, another resident in the city avoided a similar fate, when she was saved from her vehicle just seconds before it became completely submerged.  A WBRZ news crew recorded the remarkable rescue, and it has become one of several viral videos that were taken during the freak weather event. In the incredible news clip, two firefighters can be seen jumping into the raging water in order to pull a female driver to safety after her car became caught in a torrent.  Appearing undeterred by the shoulder-deep water, the two men are seen reaching the black car and attempting to pry open the drivers door, as the vehicle is quickly swept downstream by a strong current.  Unable to open the door, the firefighters smash the car’s windows in an attempt to get the woman free. They were able to pull  her out alive, before working together to reach dry ground.The remarkable clip has gone viral on social media, with Twitter users praising the two men as ‘real heroes’ for pulling off the daring rescue.  Meanwhile, another viral video also reveals the extent to which Baton Rouge was batted by the brutal rains.  Shocked passengers are forced to put their feet on the seats as the water gushes down the aisle. On Thursday, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said some areas of East Baton Rouge Parish received approximately 3.5 inches of rain in less than an hour.She opened a morning news conference with a moment of silence for the death of the man who fell victim to the flash flooding. He was later identified as 37-year-old William Jackson, WBRZ reported.Despite being rescued from his car, which was trapped along a flooded street, he later died in hospital.  As of Friday morning, the southern city is still drying out from the downpour, with residents still in shock from the freak weather event. Pictures from Thursday’s flash floods shows roads turned to rivers, as cars quickly became abandoned by terrified drivers who fled to higher ground. The flooding also caused the closure of several schools Friday due to safety concerns.  . Possible tornadoes were also reported, with the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office claiming on Facebook that one tornado ‘flipped two vehicles at a BR General parking lot’ after it began on the I-10.   ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge reported Thursday afternoon that a possible tornado at its plant in Sorrento, Louisiana, caused five injuries.The oil company said the five were immediately taken to a hospital. There were no details available on their conditions.According to the company’s Facebook page, it is currently assessing the Sorrento site for damage following the severe weather.Several southern and Midwestern states have been struggling with extreme flooding as both the Mississippi and the Missouri

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