First Casualty Reported as Ida Leaves Deadly Trail Across Louisiana

At least one person has died as a result of Hurricane Ida as the storm continued to move inland early Monday morning and local authorities requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration be made.

UPI reports the first death attributed to Ida was announced by the sheriff’s office for Ascension Parish, located just south of Baton Rouge, one of the hardest-hit regions by the storm.

The sheriff’s office said on its Facebook page local deputies received reports of a citizen being possibly injured by a fallen tree near a residence, and arrived to find the occupant deceased,

The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the death, describing the victim as a 60-year-old man.

“Tragically, we have our first death of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted. “Please shelter in place and stay safe.”

Edwards on Sunday requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration in response to the storm.

“Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms to ever hit Louisiana. It is our goal to assist our local agencies and the citizens of the state as quickly as possible and we have pre-positioned search and rescue teams, boats and other assets to begin helping people as soon as it is safe,” he said, according to UPI.

He revealed rescue crews would not be able to immediately help those who were stranded as the storm raged. And he warned his state to brace for potentially weeks of recovery.

“Many, many people are going to be tested in ways that we can only imagine today,” the governor told a news conference Sunday.

The National Weather Service on Sunday evening warned residents in the Braithwaite area to seek higher ground immediately, after the government of the Plaquemines Parish said it had received reports that a levee near the Parish line and Wit Ditch could overtop.

© Michael DeMocker / For USA TODAY Network via Imagn Content Services, LLC