About 20 Louisiana credit unions were forced to close theirbranches and offices Monday after torrential rains caused historicflooding that claimed seven lives and destroyed thousands ofhomes.

The Louisiana Credit Union League reported Monday that creditunions and their staff are suffering as they struggle to get theiroperations back up and running while coping with the devastatingpersonal losses they've experienced.

“A number of branches and the main office have experienced heavyflooding,” Lucy Hyer, vice president of communications and publicrelations for the Louisiana league, said. “The number of employees,volunteers and members that have been affected is unimaginable. Asthe credit unions report damages to their branches, they areinforming us of employee stories and they are simplyheartbreaking.”