A 14-year-old girl in Vernon Parish, Louisiana was the first confirmed fatality of Hurricane Laura.
Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed the death of the young girl Thursday after the storm made landfall around 1 a.m. East of the Louisiana Texas border, according to local news outlet WDSU. Hurricane Laura was a category four storm at the time.
BREAKING: Louisiana’s first fatality from Hurricane Laura has been reported as a 14-year-old girl https://t.co/h8bVt4gum0
— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) August 27, 2020
The 14-year-old girl reportedly died after a tree fell on her family’s home, the outlet reported.
Hurricane Laura was the most powerful storm to hit the Louisiana coastline in the last 150 years, according to WDSU. The sustained wind speeds clocked in at 150 mph with the pressure dropping to a recorded 938 millibars. (RELATED: Hurricane Laura Makes Landfall Near Texas-Louisiana Border As Category 4 Storm)
Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005, made landfall as a category three hurricane with sustained winds at 125 mph.
Gov. Edwards encouraged people to stay at home Thursday morning.
Now is not the time to go sightseeing. The threat #Laura poses to Louisiana is far from over. Stay home, continue to heed warnings from local officials and monitor your local news to stay informed. #lagov #HurricaneLaura #lawx
— John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) August 27, 2020
“Now is not the time to go sightseeing,” Edwards said in a statement on Twitter. “The threat #Laura poses to Louisiana is far from over. Stay home, continue to heed warnings from local officials and monitor your local news to stay informed.”
Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana and left widespread devastation in areas such as Lake Charles, Vernon Parish and Cameron Parish. Areas in Texas such as Port Arthur and Beaumont seemingly were somewhat spared in terms of destruction.
Roughly 404,000 utility customers in Louisiana and another 104,000 customers in Texas reported power outages due to the storm, according to the New York Times.
The extent of damage will not be known until the storm surge recedes and officials can survey the devastation, the outlet reported.