INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mike Pence canceled an appearance in Indianapolis to visit flood-stricken Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday – but a spokesman says he has no plans for a similar trip to South Bend.
Nearly 30 inches of rain fell in parts of southern Louisiana over the past week, claiming a least 13 lives and damaging tens of thousands of homes. The Washington Post reported that the storm resulted in three times more rainfall on Louisiana than Hurricane Katrina did.
Pence had rearranged his schedule touring the country campaigning for running mate Donald Trump to attend the groundbreaking for the new Indiana Neuro-Diagnostic Institute, but was "urgently called back to the national stage" to join Trump in Baton Rouge.
#FSSA: #Pence had rearranged schedule to attend groundbreaking on new state mental hospital, but "urgently called back to nat'l stage."
— Eric Berman (@WIBC_EricBerman) August 19, 2016
The pair's arrival was met with mixed reactions. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards released a statement saying Trump was welcome in Louisiana, "but not for a photo-op," and urged him to volunteer or make a donation to the Louisiana Flood Relief Fund. On the ground, the Associated Press reported Baton Rouge residents were enthusiastic about Trump's visit, one reportedly shouting out, "We knew you would be here for us!"
Click the image below to see more photos from Trump and Pence's visit:
READ MORE | Trump, Pence visit flood-damaged Louisiana
Trump and Pence toured a Baptist church in a heavily damaged portion of East Baton Rouge Parish, and spent some time joining volunteers in unloading donations from a truck.
President Barack Obama has faced criticism from Trump and other Republican politicians, as well as some Louisiana newspapers, for his decision not to cancel his vacation to visit the state. White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama planned to visit Louisiana on Tuesday, and that he was "mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts."
More: Statement from @PressSec on @POTUS visit to Baton Rouge @rtv6 pic.twitter.com/X5TCtBaadW
— #IndyThisWeek (@IndyThisWeek) August 19, 2016
Democrat Hillary Clinton also hasn't traveled to Louisiana, but tweeted that she was "closely monitoring the situation" and posted this statement to her Facebook page:
Hoosiers in northern Indiana had their own water woes to deal with this week, albeit on a lesser scale, when more than 8 inches of rain fell between Monday and Tuesday. Though no lives were lost, the northern portion of the state, particularly the South Bend area, experienced a "thousand-year rainfall event," according to South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
This is a once in a lifetime rainfall for South Bend. City personnel will be focused on safety for vehicles and homes as we assess & respond
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) August 16, 2016
Early damage reports suggested two dozen structures may have been destroyed and the number of those damaged could reach into the hundreds.
South Bend resident Randy Fish told ABC-affiliate ABC57 that he couldn't believe the scope of the flooding in his neighborhood.
“I’ve seen refrigerators floating down the street, my air conditioning unit is somewhere we don’t know where that’s at, haven’t been to the basement it's still floated, everything is gone in the basement, the freezer, the washer, the dryer, everything,” Fish told ABC57.
BREAKING: people have resorted to a canoe for transportation. @ABC57News @TomCoomes @BDormanTV @ColleenABC57 pic.twitter.com/F6VqWYn8Vv
— Evan Sery (@EvanSeryABC57) August 16, 2016
The governor's communications director Matt Lloyd said Pence had sent Indiana Department of Homeland Security Director David Kane to the area on his behalf, but had no plans to visit the area himself:
"Upon hearing of the flooding in South Bend, the governor dispatched the Executive Director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security yesterday to assess the damage and work with local officials. The governor is receiving regular updates on the situation. There are no plans for the governor to visit South Bend at this time."
Pence did visit northern Indiana last July after widespread flooding of farm fields caused up to $475 million worth of crop damage, according to the Logansport Pharos-Tribune.
Indiana Democrats took the opportunity to suggest Pence was putting his "national ambitions" above being governor.
OH SNAP!
But seriously. Where's @mike_pence? That's right. Nat'l ambitions > governing 100% of the time. #INGov https://t.co/TJ6K6BQ0iL
— Drew Anderson (@AndersonDrew) August 19, 2016
Pence has been criss-crossing the country campaigning for Trump since he was selected as his running mate in mid-July, but has been in daily communication with his staff about Indiana government issues, according to his office.
READ MORE | With Pence on the road, who is running Indiana?
He has dedicated part of Friday every week solely to focusing on state-related activities.
