Remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur flood homes and force evacuations in Gulf states

The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur battered parts of the southeastern United States with drenching rains and strong wind on Thursday, tearing through buildings, flooding homes and launching water rescues along the Gulf Coast. Arthur was the first tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic basin, and although it quickly downgraded within a day of forming, the lingering system created dangerous conditions in Louisiana and Mississippi. In one rural Louisiana parish, more than 2 feet of rain fell in 48 hours and most of that soaking came Thursday, said Donald Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles. Williams and 31st Street in Kenner is flooded during Tropical Storm Arthur in New Orleans, Thursday, June 18, 2026. David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP It flooded at least 200 homes in Avoyelles Parish, about 70 miles northwest of the state capital, Louisiana state Rep. Daryl Deshotel said. "Even by this region's standards, that's catastrophic rain," Jones said. Life-threatening floods trapped people in a campground in Perkinston, Mississippi, while rescuers used canoe paddles to break through windows of RVs, and cars and mobile homes were washed away. A rain gauge in a town near Perkinston showed as much as 10 inches of rain fell Thursday morning. Some residents told CBS News that they barely escaped as the water began to rise. …