It ended up being a beautiful day considering the fatal/destructive storms that moved through Louisiana beginning Sunday. Cleco says they were able to restore power to thousands of customers who lost lights during the storms, and only 2200 remain in the dark. Entergy says they are still working to get electricity back to about 6300. Rapides Parish was hit by a suspected tornado along the Highway 165 corridor. Capt. Tommy Carnline with the Sheriff’s Office says they worked at least 30 weather related calls between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning…:
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He says there were no injuries there, but in St. Martin Parish a 3-year-old and her mother died when a tornado toppled their trailer. A GoFundMe account with a $5,000 goal has been created to pay for the funeral expenses of 38-year-old Francine Gotch, and 3-year-old Nevaeh Alexander of Breaux Bridge.

Governor John Bel Edwards officially declared a state of emergency for the state in response to the damages sustained due to the severe weather. The governor is in Rapides and St. Martin Parishes today to survey storm damage in affected areas.

You can now donate household items to flood victims through the new online donation campaign CrowdRelief. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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