Louisiana governor expecting death toll from Ida to rise ‘considerably’

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said on Monday that he expects the death toll from Hurricane Ida to rise “considerably” throughout the day as search and rescue operations commence.

“We have one confirmed death, but I don’t want to mislead anyone,” Edwards said while appearing on MSNBC. “Robust search and rescue is happening right now, and I fully expect that death count will go up considerably throughout the day.”

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane. By Sunday evening, all of New Orleans was left without power. According to Entergy New Orleans, most of the New Orleans area is still without power as of Monday afternoon.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed the first death caused by Hurricane Ida on Sunday evening after deputies responded to a report of a person injured by a falling tree.

According to Edwards, power lines, trees and standing water have gotten in the way of search and rescue teams reaching the most impacted communities.

“We will obviously be developing the situation throughout the day, saving lives, rescuing people everywhere that we can. And we have a very robust effort underway,” Edwards added. “That one confirmed death in Ascension Parish we know is just the first one that we will, unfortunately, confirm throughout the day.”

Ida has now moved mostly inland and has been downgraded to a tropical storm. According to the National Hurricane Center, Ida is currently in the southwestern region of Mississippi and is continuing to move north at about 9 mph.