Louisiana revises number of victims after devastating Hurricane Ida
Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Authorities in Louisiana on Wednesday revised upward the number of people killed in connection with Hurricane Ida.
According to official figures, there are now 26 known fatalities in Louisiana, up from 15.
Up to and including Monday, nine people died from overheating as a result of storm-related power outages, while two more died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday.
Because of the ongoing power outages after the storm, hundreds of thousands of people were unable to use air conditioning despite the summer heat. Many also used generators, which pose a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning without adequate ventilation.
Hurricane Ida hit south-west of the city of New Orleans on August 29 as a dangerous category 4 hurricane coming from the Gulf of Mexico.
The hurricane caused massive damage. Electric power is still down in some 300,000 households in the state.
Ida moved on in a north-easterly direction and weakened overland. At the end of last week, the remnants of the storm caused severe weather and catastrophic floods in the north-eastern US.
At least 48 people were killed in the greater New York region, most of them in New York City and in the neighboring state of New Jersey. President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation in a visit on Tuesday.
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire