A before-and-after look at the deadly, record-setting flooding in Louisiana

Record-setting flooding over the weekend in southern Louisiana brought more than 20 inches of rain in some areas, causing severe flooding that has damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 13 people.

The rainfall caused four rivers, the Amite, Comite, Tangipahoa and Tickfaw, to rise to record-setting levels, according to the National Weather Service in New Orleans. Some of the most severe flooding occurred along the Amite River, which runs between Baton Rouge and the nearby city of Denham Springs.

By Armand Emamdjomeh and Priya Krishnakumar

Denham Springs Denham Springs Port Vincent French Settlement Lake Pontchartrain New Orleans New Orleans Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Mississippi River 10 12 55 310 10 MILES Amite River Detail LOUISIANA Parishes declaredfederal disaster areas

Amite River at Denham Springs

The rain caused massive flooding along the Comite and Amite rivers, which meet between the cities of Baton Rouge and Denham Springs. The bottleneck brought some of the most severe flooding, with a gauge just below where the two rivers meet measuring more than 17 feet above flood stage at its highest point on Aug. 14.

Aug. 13 Aug. 14 Aug. 15 Aug. 16 Aug. 17 28 33 38 43 48 ft Water levels at Amite River at Denham Springs Previous recordApril 8, 198341.5 ft New recordAug. 14 at 5:30 AM46.2 ft Flood stage: 29 ft Major flood: 39 ft

Amite River at Port Vincent

Floodwaters heading downstream also inundated several communities along the river, including the small town of Port Vincent. A flood gauge there set a new record of 17.45 feet, topping the old record by nearly 3 feet.

Aug. 13 Aug. 14 Aug. 15 Aug. 16 Aug. 17 2 6 10 14 18 ft Water levels at Amite River at Port Vincent Flood stage: 8 ft Major flood: 12 ft Previous recordApril 9, 198314.65 ft New recordAug. 15 at 1:30 AM17.45 ft

Amite River at French Settlement

Over the next few days the water flowed like a slow-moving wave, causing waters to rise in Ascension Parish as the Amite River drained into Lake Maurepas. In the town of French Settlement, the river crested nearly two days after the initial floods.

2 4 6 8 10 ft Water levels at Amite River at French Settlement New recordAug. 16 at 5:30 AM9.2 ft Flood stage: 4 ft Major flood: 8 ft Previous recordApril 25, 19777.4 ft Aug. 13 Aug. 14 Aug. 15 Aug. 16 Aug. 17

Sources: FEMA, National Weather Service, NOAA, Google Earth, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap