BATON ROUGE - Many East Baton Rouge Parish residents were taken by surprise as heavy rain crept into their homes overnight Monday, forcing them to evacuate and head for higher ground.

As the Parish works quickly to recover from damage caused by a series of storms that swept through the region on Monday and Tuesday, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome is issuing guidance intended to assist each resident throughout the process. 

Report flood damage

During a Tuesday morning update, she emphasized the importance of reporting flood damage to local officials.

>Click here to view coverage of the mayor's news conference<

After Broome's public address, the mayor's office issued a follow-up news release that explained exactly how to report damage, stating, "We are asking everyone in East Baton Rouge Parish who experienced damage from the recent rain event, to complete a simple online Damage Assessment Survey at brla.gov/emergency."

The news release continued, "Residents should upload a clear photo of their waterline on their damaged property. This survey will help us better understand the impact of this weather event."

Pick up sandbags as needed

In addition to this, though the most severe weather is likely over, more rain is expected on Wednesday and Thursday. So, officials have restocked all sandbag locations. 

A list of East Baton Rouge Parish sandbag locations is available online, here and here. 

Continue to make arrangements to be vaccinated against COVID-19

Additionally, while navigating storm-related issues, the COVID-19 health crisis is still a priority. The mayor's office touched on this in its recent release by addressing Tuesday's closure of a number of parish vaccination sites.

The release said, "Anyone who had an appointment today (Tuesday) can come back any day, no appointment needed."

-The vaccination site at Bon Carre, open Tuesday through Saturday, will see patients from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

-The site at Tiger Stadium, also open Tuesday through Saturday, will administer vaccinations from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

-The vaccination site at the Mall of Louisiana, open Tuesday through Saturday, is open to vaccine patients from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

-The mayor's office says that the vaccination site at Holy Grill will reopen Tuesday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and no appointment is necessary for a free Pfizer vaccine. 

For more information related to COVID-19 vaccinations in EBR, please click here.

And, as storms continue to impact the region, viewers can stay updated by following WBRZ Weather on Facebook and Twitter.