in just this one area of jefferson parish, not far outside new orleans, they had 135 rescues in a day. if you want to go further, you'll need a boat. the easiest way into areas like grand isle and lafitte, what happened in minutes could leave the stranded trapped for days. >> it was unbelievable. 4 feet of water just came rushing in. >> reporter: with the scope of destruction coming into focus, what's out of view is also devastating. surrounded by water, more than half a million have none from their taps safe to drink. lines for gas and supplies are leaving locals in searing heat, for some, the storm's after math more devastating than the impact. >> this is probably the worst i have been through. i mean, i went through katrina. >> reporter: though torrential rain has passed in mississippi the deluge helped erode a highway. the collapse killing two and