Emergency Preparedness

Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency due to the potential impacts and further development of Tropical Storm Ida. According to the National Hurricane Center, this system is forecast to approach the northern Gulf Coast at or near major hurricane intensity Sunday.

The Louisiana Department of Health will reopen oyster beds in areas 1, 2 and 26-28 beginning at sunrise on Friday, June 25, 2021. They were previously closed due to Tropical Storm Claudette.

The Louisiana Department of Health reopened oyster beds in areas 3 to 25 as of sunrise on Sunday, June 20, 2021. Areas 1 and 2 will remain closed due to effects from Tropical Storm Claudette.

These shellfish-growing areas will remain closed until state health officials determine the waters are clear and within approved area criteria established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

Following months of improvement in COVID-19 hospitalizations and with nearly three million vaccine doses administered, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday signed an updated public health emergency order that removes all remaining business capacity restrictions and the vast majority of masking requirements.

In an effort to ensure the most accurate reporting of deaths that are attributable to the recent storms, the Louisiana Department of Health will only report a death after it has been confirmed as storm-related by the parish coroner.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued a State of Emergency Declaration due to the ongoing severe weather impacting Southwest Louisiana. Numerous Flash Flood Warnings and Tornado Warnings have already been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). Additional rains are expected across the state for the next several days.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is seeking information from anyone who received damage due to the winter weather event this week. The self-reporting survey, which can be found at damage.la.gov, will help local and state emergency managers collect data to move forward with the recovery process.

A 68-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman in Avoyelles Parish died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a generator was placed in the camper in which they were staying.

The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday has confirmed two additional deaths tied to the February 2021 winter storm, bringing the statewide death toll to 3.