Difficult Hurricane Laura Recovery Reflected in Staggering Numbers; Lives Turned 'Completely Upside Down,' Governor Says

 Ron Brackett

Published: August 31, 2020

This article is no longer being updated. For the latest on the Hurricane Laura recovery efforts, click here.

The numbers that reflect the impact of Hurricane Laura can't tell the full story.

Nonetheless, they are staggering.

"We have a long road ahead of us. This recovery is going to take a while and it's going to take a lot of effort ...," Gov. John Bel Edwards said during a briefing Sunday afternoon. "A very significant percentage of our state's population's lives are completely upside down."

At least 15 deaths in Louisiana have been blamed on the hurricane, eight of which were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from generators, Edwards said. Laura was responsible for four deaths in Texas and 23 in the Caribbean.

(MORE: Here's What We're Watching in the Tropics Going into September)

For the first time since Thursday, the number of Louisiana homes and businesses without power fell below 300,000 on Monday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. Texas had more than 63,000 customers without electricity.

About 500 electricity transmission towers are down in the Lake Charles area alone, Edwards said.

Rakisha Murray cries in relief as she arrives to see her mother's home largely undamaged in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, after she returned from evacuating with her mother and other family members.

"That just gives you some sense of the work that is going to have to be done to get power back in Lake Charles," he said.

More than 17,000 linemen from at least 29 states are making repairs, the governor said.

Customers have been warned it could be four or five weeks — if not longer — before their electricity is restored.

More than 180,000 people also have little or no running water. At least 183 water systems remain shut down after being slammed by Laura.

The weather remains a real challenge, Edwards said on Monday afternoon. The heat index in southwest Louisiana on Monday was between 105 and 108, and the extreme heat was likely to last the next few days

More than 10,000 people are sheltering in 43 hotels throughout the state. As many as 4,000 are in Texas hotels.

In Calcasieu and in Cameron parishes, schools will remain closed until further notice, officials announced.

Anthony Vincent and Mary Vincent use their boat to save food they retrieved from a freezer in their home on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Little Chenier, Louisiana.

Calcasieu School Board officials said 97% of their 70 sites and facilities have substantial damage.

Some 6,240 members of the Louisiana National Guard helping with hurricane recovery have handed out 1.3 million liters of water, 800,000 meals, nearly 100,000 bags of ice and about 20,000 tarps.

What these numbers fail to convey is the physical and emotional toll Hurricane Laura is taking on real people. People like James Townley of Lake Charles.

The 56-year-old man sought relief from the stifling heat on Sunday with a fan powered by a neighbor's generator. He lay on a sofa in what was left of his home after Laura ripped the front wall off.

His open shirt showed heart surgery scars. Townley told the Associated Press he has run out of medicine for his heart and kidneys. He said he hasn't heard back from FEMA.

"I’m just going to sit here and do what I can do," he said. "Maybe I’ll make it, maybe I won’t."

Death Toll Climbs to 18

The Louisiana Department of Health announced two more deaths Sunday as a result of Hurricane Laura, bringing the total in the state to 14. Of the 14 deaths, eight were due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

These are the confirmed victims in Louisiana:

-14-year-old girl, Vernon Parish, fallen tree

-51-year-old man, Jackson Parish, fallen tree

-68-year-old man, Acadia Parish, fallen tree

-64-year-old woman, Allen Parish, fallen tree

-Man, Calcasieu Parish, drowning

-24-year-old man, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-56-year-old woman, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-61-year-old man, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-81-year-old woman, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-72-year-old man, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-84-year-old man, Allen Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-80-year-old woman, Allen Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning from generator

-57-year-old man, Calcasieu Parish, head injury after falling from roof

-One resident, Calcasieu Parish, carbon monoxide poisoning

-49-year-old man, Rapides Parish, storm cleanup

In Texas, three men died in Port Arthur because of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator they had brought indoors while sheltering from Laura, Jefferson County Precinct 7 Justice of the Peace Brad Burnett told KBMT-TV.

A 54-year-old man was killed Thursday when a tree fell on his mobile home, Sabine County Emergency Management Coordinator Kerwin Lloyd said, according to the AP.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.