At least 6 dead as Laura slams Louisiana

At least six people have been reported dead as a result of the damage caused by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana.

On Thursday evening, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced that four people had died in Acadia, Jackson and Vernon parishes as a result of trees falling during the storm.

“I’m asking that we all lift up these families in prayer, and certainly I’m concerned that as we go out and do primary and secondary search and rescue, we’re going to find more fatalities. I hope not, I pray not, but that is why we go out and do those search and rescues,” Edwards said.

Shortly after Edward’s announcement, the Louisiana Department of Health announced that two more people were added to the death toll.

As the state recovers from Hurricane Laura, the Louisiana Department of Health will continue to update the number of verified storm-related deaths. Today, we sadly verify 6 storm-related deaths.

— Louisiana Department of Health (@LADeptHealth) August 27, 2020

One person died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence and the other died of drowning while aboard a sinking ship, according to a local NBC affiliate.

Laura made landfall Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane near the Texas-Louisiana border, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and causing massive havoc before it was later downgraded to a tropical storm. 

The storm strengthened overnight with reported sustained winds of 150 mph, making it just 7 mph shy of becoming a Category 5. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall in 2005.

The White House announced Thursday that President Trump would visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters later in the day to discuss the damage caused by the storm.