Fourteen killed in wake of Hurricane Laura in US

WESTLAKE, LA – AUGUST 28: Toppled rail cars are seen on August 28, 2020 in Westlake, Louisiana. Hurricane Laura came ashore bringing rain and high winds to the southeast region of the state, reaching wind speeds of 150 mph and a 9-12 feet storm surge. Eric Thayer/Getty Images/AFP

 

LAKE CHARLES, United States (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.

ORANGE, LA – AUGUST 28: A damaged building is seen on August 28, 2020 in Orange, Louisiana. Hurricane Laura came ashore bringing rain and high winds to the southeast region of the state, reaching wind speeds of 150 mph and a 9-12 feet storm surge. Eric Thayer/Getty Images/AFP
A truck with the US National Guard drives past a destroyed shrimping boat after the passing of hurricane Laura in Hackberry, Louisiana on August 28, 2020. – At least six people were killed by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana and search teams may find more victims, but the governor said Thursday that the most powerful storm to make landfall in the US state in living memory did not cause the “catastrophic” damage that had been feared. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

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.

© Agence France-Presse

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