LAPLACE, La. - A handful of people reported being trapped in attics as flood water swallowed parts of LaPlace late Sunday night.

A storm surge pushed as much as five to seven feet of water into areas near the I-10/I-55 interchange after nightfall.  

"Everything added together to make for a bad situation," Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said in a late-night interview with WBRZ anchors Michael Shingleton and Sylvia Weatherspoon. 

Hotard said response crews were starting to rescue an undetermined number of people around 11:30 p.m. Sunday.  Calls for help started sometime between 10:30 and 11 and rescues started once it was safe.