Hurricane Laura, August 27, 2020
At least six fatalities have been reported in Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Laura. A 14-year-old girl in Leesville died when the fierce winds knocked a tree down on her home. Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft says hundreds of trees are down, so it took a while before his deputies could arrive at the scene.
“A tree fell on the house, the family was able to get to her, my people have been there for a while, but they had to walk their way in, they could not drive to the residence,” said Craft.
The eye of the storm went right over Vernon Parish. Craft believes it spawned a couple of tornadoes and they had wins of over 120-miles per hour.
“Practically every road, every secondary road has downed trees so our getting to and fro is very, very limited,” said Craft.
The other reported fatality happened near Iota in Acadia Parish. Sheriff K.P. Gibson says a 68-year-old man died when a tree fell on his home.
“A tree broke and fell directly on a room which was tied to a room that the victim was staying in and fell on him and he was trapped and killed under that tree,” said Gibson.
Gibson doesn’t believe Acadia Parish suffered the type of damage seen in Calcasieu and Vernon, but it could take a while before power is restored.
Another fatality has been reported in Jackson Parish as a man died when a tree fell on his home.
The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency preparedness says a 24-year-old Calcaseiu Parish man also died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his home. Another death in Calcasieu has been classified as a drowning. That victim was on a sinking ship.
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