BATON ROUGE - Early Tuesday morning, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome issued a news release announcing the closure of all City-Parish buildings — including City Hall and all community centers — for Tuesday, May 18, due to excessive rains and the potential threat of continued flash flooding conditions throughout East Baton Rouge Parish.

The release added that City-Parish buildings will be restricted to essential personnel only.

In addition to this, the East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Operations Center (EOC) entered a partial activation overnight.

Mayor Broome signed a State of Emergency declaration, allowing East Baton Rouge Parish to immediately activate state resources if local resources are exhausted. Additionally, when federal resources are executed, East Baton Rouge Parish will already be within the declaration.

The National Weather Service (NWS) Slidell is reporting some areas of East Baton Rouge Parish saw more than 12” of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Some East Baton Rouge Parish regions also experienced a Tornado and Flash Flood Warning Monday evening.

As of Tuesday morning, locals are bracing for a forecast additional 4-6” of rainfall throughout the day.

In the news release, Mayor Broome advises East Baton Rouge Parish citizens to, “remain vigilant during severe weather; monitor local media outlets or the NWS for the latest forecast, follow any guidance from local officials, and never drive through flooded roadways.”