Storm Leaves Power Outages, Heavy Rain

Thousands of residents of coastal areas hit by Hurricane Bonnie were still without electricity Friday and heavy rain continued to batter some areas.

Heavy rain over northern Louisiana caused flooding up to 10 feet deep in parts of Shreveport and a section of Interstate 20 was closed by high water. Just south of Blanchard, 10 inches of rain fell in 12 hours, the National Weather Service said. Northern Bossier Parish and Shreveport received eight inches of rain in the same 12-hour period.

Firefighters used boats to rescue some Shreveport residents stranded in their homes by the sudden high water.

In Beaumont, Tex., about 15,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Friday, Gulf State Utilities Co. spokesman Doug McCormick said. Power also had not been restored to about 4,000 homes and businesses in Port Arthur.

Power outages also continued in Orange, Bolivar Peninsula and parts of Hardin County, McCormick said. Dry ice was supplied to residents without electricity for their refrigerators while crews worked to restore power.

The hurricane struck the Texas coast before dawn Thursday, spinning off tornadoes and killing two people. Thunderstorms covered large sections of eastern Texas and western Louisiana later that day, dumping 10 to 13 inches of rain.