Photo: Getty Images
Hurricane Ida is officially a deadly storm after Louisiana authorities announced on Sunday (August 29) the death of a man who died after a tree fell into his home in Ascension Parish.
According to reports, winds topped speeds of 150mph with gusts up to 165 mph, causing massive damage and power outages despite downgrading to a Hurricane 1 storm.
“APSO reports first death related to Hurricane Ida. Shortly after 8:30 pm deputies received reports of a citizen possibly injured from a fallen tree at a residence off Highway 621 in Prairieville,” the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Deputies arrived on scene and confirmed that the victim is now deceased.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall in the Gulf on Sunday (August 29), 16 years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the same area.
Millions of residents across Louisiana and Mississippi are without power and some are stranded as flood waters make rescue efforts dangerous.
“We have a bunch of people trapped that we can’t get to, one being the wind, we can’t put boats in the water, it’s just too rough, it would be life-threatening for the person operating the boat at this time,” Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr told CNN. “We tried to do high water trucks, we can’t get through the water.”
Flood waters in the affected parishes and communities –– many of which are predominantly Black areas –– have reached upwards of 10 to 12 feet high.
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