Dramatic moment hero man jumps from his boat to rescue woman trapped in her car as it sinks into historic Louisiana floodwater 

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A woman who nearly drowned in Louisiana floodwater was saved when men on a boat came to her rescue at the perfect time.

A dramatic video shows a woman shouting for help as her convertible submerges into the deep, brown water.

'Oh my God, I'm drowning,' the woman can be heard saying. When the video begins, her car is about two-thirds submerged.

Three men drive their boat up to her car, but are unsuccessful when they try to break her vehicle's window.

A dramatic video shows a woman shouting for help as her convertible submerges into the deep water of the Louisiana floods

The car is about two-thirds submerged when the men approached and tried to help

The three men first tried to break the rear window, but were unsuccessful in the first rescue attempt

The car continues to sink and boat passenger David Phung jumps out of the boat on to her car

He is able to cut into the roof of the convertible's fabric roof and free the woman from drowning

Phung is then able to pull the woman out of her vehicle and starts to pull her toward safety

The car continues to sink and boat passenger David Phung jumps out of the boat on to her car, where he starts to tear at the convertible's fabric roof.

Phung is then able to pull the woman to safety. She pleads with Phung to get her dog, but he can't find it. 

After several seconds, Phung takes a deep breath, goes underwater and resurfaces - with the small dog.

Louisiana Gov John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency, calling the floods 'unprecedented' and 'historic'. At least three people have died thus far in the floods.

He and his family were even forced to leave the Governor's Mansion when chest-high water filled the basement and electricity was shut off.

'That's never happened before,' said the governor, whose family relocated to a state police facility in the Baton Rouge area.

Rivers and their tributaries swelled and bulged beyond their banks.

In the Livingston Parish city of Denham Springs, a suburb of Baton Rouge, entire shopping centers were inundated, only roofs of cars peeking above the water. And in many places, the water was still rising, with days expected before rivers were expected to crest.

'This is an ongoing event. We're still in response mode,' Edwards said, urging residents to heed warnings to evacuate and be prepared for a disaster that could last for several days.

But before heading for the boat, the woman pleads with Phung to get her dog from her vehicle

After several seconds, Phung takes a deep breath, goes underwater to find the dog

Several seconds later, Phung emerges from the water with the woman's small dog

Following the scary incident, the three then swim to safety and are believed to be OK

Earlier in the day, Edwards said that more than 1,000 people had been rescued, and the number only increased as the day went on.

Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said that 2,000 people in his parish alone had been rescued and some were still awaiting help.

'We haven't been rescuing people. We've been rescuing subdivisions,' he said. 'It has not stopped at all today.'

Beginning Friday, six to ten inches of rain fell on parts of Louisiana and several more inches of rain fell on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas got even more rain.

In a 24-hour period, Baton Rouge had as much as 11 inches while one weather observer reported more than 17 inches in Livingston.

The system is expected to turn to the north Sunday and portions of central and northern Louisiana could see heavy rain into next week.

Mississippi Gov Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for several counties in his state as it also battled the heavy rainfall.

In Baker, just north of Baton Rouge, residents were rescued by boats or waded through waist-deep, snake-infested water to reach dry ground. Dozens of them awoke Saturday morning on cots at a makeshift Red Cross shelter only a few blocks from their flooded homes and cars.

This aerial image shows flooded areas in Denhamp Springs, Louisiana, on Saturday

Beginning Friday, six to ten inches of rain fell on parts of Louisiana and several more inches of rain fell on Saturday

Residents wade through flood water at Tiger Manor Apartments by the North Gates of Louisiana State University

Volunteers pull a boat with a woman and young child as they evacuate from their homes on Saturday in Baton Rouge

John Mitchell, 23, said he swam to safety with his pit bull after police officers in a boat picked up his 20-year-old girlfriend, her one-year-old daughter and Mitchell's father.

'This is the worst it's been, ever,' Mitchell said. 'We tried to wait it out, but we had to get out.'

Mitchell fears he lost their trailer home and his car, which was flooded up to the seats. A bag of clothes was all he had time to save as the water levels rapidly rose.

Shanita Angrum, 32, said she called 911 on Friday morning when she realized flood waters had trapped her family in their home. A police officer carried her 6-year-old daughter, Khoie, on his back while she and her husband waded behind them for what 'felt like forever.'

'Snakes were everywhere,' she said. 'The whole time I was just praying for God to make sure me and my family were OK.'

The body of a woman from Amite was recovered Saturday from the Tickfaw River, according to Michael Martin, chief of operations for the St. Helena Sheriff's Office.

The woman, her husband and the woman's mother-in-law were driving on a state highway Friday when their car was swept off the road. 

Tammie Wise holds her dog Mikey, after Jeffrey Lesage, right, boated them to safety in Central, Louisiana

Louisiana Gov John Bel Edwards says more than 1,000 people in south Louisiana have been rescued from homes, vehicles and even clinging to trees as a slow-moving storm hammers the state with flooding 

In this aerial photo a boat motors between flooded homes after heavy rains in Hammond, Louisiana

Jeff Robinson lowers a ladder from a Louisiana National Guard truck as his wife wades through flood waters from the Natalbany River near their home in Baptist

The woman's husband and mother-in-law clung to a tree for hours before they were rescued Saturday, Martin said.

A man died Friday after slipping into a flooded ditch near the city of Zachary, said East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's spokesman Casey Rayborn Hicks, who identified the victim as William Mayfield, 68. 

And the body of Samuel Muse, 54, was found in St. Helena Parish, where crews pulled him from a submerged pickup on Louisiana Highway 10, authorities said.

Numerous rivers in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi were overflowing. The governor said some were expected to crest more than 4 feet above previous records. Officials were not sure just how widespread the damage would be.

The Tickfaw River, just south of the Mississippi state line in Liverpool, Louisiana, was already at the highest level ever recorded.

In southwest Mississippi, Leroy Hansford, his wife and stepson were among those rescued near Gloster, which had more than 14 inches of rain, when the nearby Beaver Creek rose quickly overnight.

'We woke up and the water kept on coming,' Hansford said. 'It came up to my waist.'

Jeremy and Chelsea LeMieux paddle a pirogue through floodwaters in Carencro, Louisiana

Numerous rivers in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi were overflowing due to heavy rains 

Rescue workers make their way through flooded areas along the Tangipahoa River looking for stranded people

In a 24-hour period, Baton Rouge had as much as 11 inches while one weather observer reported more than 17 inches in Livingston

Rescue officials and civilians alike work to pull people from their flooded homes along the flooded Tangipahoa River