Macabre scenes as COFFINS float down streets in deadly Louisiana floods that have killed five people and left 20,000 needing rescue

GRISLY photos have emerged showing COFFINS floating down a Louisiana street.

They come as the US state is engulfed by heavy rainfall that has left at least five people dead.

Local resident Anna Johnson took the grim snap in Denham Springs, near the devastated state capital Baton Rouge.

She described the freak flooding as "worse than Hurricane Katrina", the 2005 disaster that wreaked havoc in the state, particularly in New Orleans.

As much as 11 inches of rain fell on Baton Rouge in just 24 hours this weekend, with 17 inches of rain reported in nearby Livingstone.

President Barack Obama yesterday announced Louisiana was in a state of emergency, freeing up relief money from Washington.

Jon Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, said that over 20,000 people had been rescued from disaster zones across the state.

At least 10,000 people have been re-homed in emergency shelters since the floods began on Friday night, he said.

The worst-hit counties of Tangipahoa, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and Livingston will be the first to receive federal assistance.

However, Governor Edwards suggested more areas will be included.

He said: "I have travelled to affected areas and have seen the destruction caused by this unprecedented flooding.

"We are thankful for the federal government's quick response to our request for an emergency declaration.

"This is an ongoing event, and we are confident that every available state and federal resource will be brought to bear.

"I fully expect that more parishes will be added to the declaration on a rolling basis."

Meanwhile, dramatic footage has emerged of a woman and her dog being rescued from a sinking car.

The heart-stopping clip shows two men desperately trying to save a woman from her car as it becomes submerged in the flood water in a badly hit part of Louisiana.

A red convertible sports car is seen sinking nose-first as three men on a small piece of floating wood desperately try to prise open the woman's car.

One man, armed with a long rod, tries to smash open the car's window before moving to rip open the soft-top roof.

As the car continues to sink, the man jumps on top of the vehicle in a desperate bid to free the woman.

He is seen clawing at the soft top roof to rip it open.

After a nail-biting few seconds the woman is dragged through the hole in her roof and emerges gasping for air.

But in the same breath she desperately cries: "Get my dog! Get my dog now!"

The woman appears to push her hero back underwater before saying: "Hang on, I'll go down."

She then attempts to dive as the man, who appears to have his arm underwater searching for the pooch, says: "I can't get the dog."

A man behind the camera is then heard saying "maybe she's gone", to which the woman responds: "No, she better not be."

Less than a second later the brave rescuer appears from underneath the water with the tiny white pooch in his arms.

He cries "I got her" before ordering the woman to swim back to safety on the boat.

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