Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga among celebrities sending aid to Louisiana flood victims

Red Cross says flooding is worst natural disaster to hit US since Superstorm Sandy

Residents venture out in their flooded neighbourhoods (Getty)

With the Red Cross designating the floods in Louisiana the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy, Taylor Swift and other celebrities have been voicing their support for victims and, in some cases, vowing to send material help.

Recovery operations all across southern Louisiana were in full swing on Wednesday as floodwaters left by historic downpours of rain began to ebb, revealing a numbing landscape of ruined homes and damaged roads and bridges.

The flooding has been blamed already for at least 11 deaths, including five in East Baton Rouge Parish alone. This after rainfall the likes of which is seen once in every 1,000 years, according to meteorologists.

Officials said the the operation to provide emergency shelter was already more extensive than during Hurricane Katrina, which barreled into the same area almost exactly eleven years ago. About 30,000 people had to be rescued and 40,000 homes have been damaged.

Taylor Swift, the singer, set the tone for celebrity responses saying she was donating $1 million to the relief effort.

“We began The 1989 World Tour in Louisiana, and the wonderful fans there made us feel completely at home,“ Ms Swift explained to CNN. ”The fact that so many people in Louisiana have been forced out of their own homes this week is heartbreaking. I encourage those who can to help out and send your love and prayers their way during this devastating time.”

On Wednesday, Lady Gaga, the pop star, joined in, sending her wishes to victims on Twitter and promising to pitch in also with the relief effort. She has so far not given details of what she may contribute, however. She said she was offering her “thoughts and prayers to all of our loved ones in Louisiana suffering through the flood.”

Ian Somerhalder, a native of Louisiana and a star of The Vampire Diaries, the television series, also took to Twitter to express his pain and solidarity.

Perhaps mindful of the political damage that was done to his predecessor, George W Bush, when the federal government responded too slowly to the Katrina crisis, President Barack Obama interrupted his holiday on Martha’s Vineyard to hear a briefing on the flooding from Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA.

The White House added that Mr Obama had also instructed the Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, who is ultimately in charge of FEMA, personally to travel to the afflicted areas. Mr Johnson is expected to arrive in Louisiana on Thursday as the rescue effort continues.

The Red Cross said it had deployed about 1,000 volunteers to help with families who have lost their homes or who are returning to see what they can salvage from the floods. The helpers had converged on the area from all 50 US states.

Brad Kieserman, vice president, Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross, said in a news release the massive relief operation will cost at least $30 million and that he believes the “current flooding in Louisiana is the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Superstorm Sandy”.