LAKE CHARLES, United States, Aug 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – At least 14 people
were killed after Hurricane Laura slammed into the southern US states of
Louisiana and Texas, authorities and local media said Friday.
Louisiana’s Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed at least 10 people had died
in his state, half from using carbon monoxide-producing portable generators
indoors in the aftermath of the storm making landfall Thursday.
Four of the remaining deaths were caused by trees falling on people’s
homes, according to Edwards, while a man drowned after his boat sank in the
storm.
There were 464,813 customers without power in Louisiana on Friday,
according to the site Poweroutage.us.
Texas ended up being spared the brunt of the hurricane, which has since
weakened significantly. Three of the state’s four deaths were also reportedly
due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
Those victims, all believed to be homeless, had sought shelter in a pool
hall in the southeastern town of Port Arthur and carried its generator
inside, according to the Beaumont Enterprise.
Local media reported Friday morning that a man died in East Texas, although
it is unconfirmed that he was a direct victim of the hurricane.
The CBS affiliate for East Texas said the man was killed when a tree fell
on his mobile home in Hemphill.
Earlier Friday, Haiti’s civil protection service said 31 people had died
due to Hurricane Laura, which blasted the island nation as a tropical storm
last weekend before turning into a powerful Category 4 hurricane.