Two more people have died as a result of Hurricane Laura, bringing the death toll to 12. The Louisiana Department of Health says an 84-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman in Allen Parish died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. This comes a day after Governor Edwards confirmed that a family in Lake Charles also died from carbon monoxide poisoning related to a generator, which brought the death toll to 10.
In an effort to help Louisiana recover as quickly as possible after devastation from Laura, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is urging Louisianans to volunteer, much like they did with Hurricane Katrina. Nungesser says volunteering is a way to pay tribute to those who lost their lives 15 years ago today.
Cut 5 after Katrina :11
For information go to volunteer Louisiana dot gov and follow Volunteer Louisiana on Facebook and Twitter.
Governor John Bel Edwards will join President Trump on his visit to Lake Charles this afternoon. The president will survey damage and receive briefings on emergency operations and relief efforts. Last night Trump approved a major disaster declaration for 23 parishes, it opens FEMA assistance to individuals and communities impacted by the Category 4 storm.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter says the city has been devastated by the strongest storm to hit the state in 150 years, but he’s optimistic that they can recover.
A curfew is in effect across the city.
Cleco reports they have restored power to over 40 percent of their approximate 140,000 customers with outages from Laura. The company says there are some areas that they have still not been able to fully survey due to flooding.