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Louisiana authorities report first death caused by Hurricane Ida

Policemen on site reported that an unidentified man was killed on the spot

NEW YORK, August 30. /TASS/. Louisiana authorities have reported the first death caused by Hurricane Ida. The Ascension Parish sheriff’s office made the corresponding statement on Sunday night.

According to law enforcement, approximately at 20:30 local time (04:30 Moscow time on August 30) police received a call that a tree fell on a residential building as a result of strong winds. Policemen on site reported that an unidentified man was killed on the spot. Earlier, there have been no reports of people killed or injured in the hurricane.

Hurricane Ida that originated in the Atlantic and was classified as a Category 4 storm out of five possible categories made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday afternoon. By the evening it weakened to a Category 2 storm, however it is still capable of serious destruction. The wind velocity within the hurricane reaches 49.1 meters per second, it is moving in the northwestern direction with the speed of approximately 16 kilometers per hour.

The state of Louisiana and its most densely populated city of New Orleans have already experienced the destructive impact of the forces of nature when Hurricane Katrina swept into the southeastern US in August 2005. According to official data, over 1,800 people were killed in the storm while about 80% of New Orleans was flooded. Hurricane Katrina became one of the most destructive hurricanes in the US since records began. The damage from the hurricane was estimated as more than $108 bln.