Southeast Louisiana is recovering from the fifth named storm to make landfall in the state this year, the near category three Hurricane Zeta.
Flooding was limited to non-existent in most parts of the southeast but down at the tip of The Boot we did have a levee breach. Governor Edwards says three breaches were reported in the Burrito Levee in Grand Isle on the Gulf of Mexico side.
Edwards said unfortunately we are reporting the first storm-related death, a 55-year-old New Orleans man who died from electrocution due to a downed powerline.
“Obviously this is sad and this is tragic and we ought to offer our prayers to the family of that gentleman,” said Edwards.
Power is out to hundreds of thousands of customers in Louisiana but Edwards said the good news is preliminary estimates show it won’t be weeks before the lights come on for most customers.
“There was some limited damage to transmission lines but most of it appears to be to the distribution lines, the normal utility poles that you would see on the sides of roads,” said Edwards.
Three breaches have been reported in the Burrito Levee in Grand Isle. CPRA is on the scene assessing the damage.
Edwards surveyed much of southeast Louisiana today by helicopter and said most of the damage appears to be wind related.
“The closer you get to the coast the more destructive the damage is to structures and that includes homes,” said Edwards.
1,940 National Guardsmen have been activated in support of emergency operations in the state.
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