Man killed by alligator in Louisiana after warning beasts were lurking in Ida flood waters
Man, 71, is killed by an alligator while wading through several feet of water in his shed in Louisiana caused by Hurricane Ida after his wife pulled him to safety
Woman in Slidell, Louisiana called police saying husband was attacked by gator Attack happened in man’s shed which was flooded with several feet of waterWife pulled her husband onto stairs and then left to get help, WWL-TV reported Animal bit man’s arm off, causing him to die; Victim’s body hasn’t been found Public officials warned that alligators could be lurking in flood waters Rescue crews are searching for stranded residents after Ida tore through region
A 71-year-old man was reportedly killed in an alligator attack after the animal bit off his arm as he waded through flood waters caused by Hurricane Ida on Monday.
The attack took place in the town of Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, according to WWL-TV. The victim’s body has not been found.
The man’s wife called police and told investigators that an alligator attacked her husband while he was in his shed, which had been inundated with several feet of water.
The woman pulled her husband onto the stairs and then left to get help. The man’s body was never recovered.
At least 15 people in Slidell were rescued from rooftops on Monday by first responders.
Earlier on Monday, the president of Jefferson Parish warned that alligators could be lurking in flood waters while search and rescue teams go door-to-door in search of survivors.
Jefferson Parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng said: ‘Unfortunately the worst-case scenario seems to have happened.
A man was reportedly killed in an alligator attack after the animal bit off his arm while swimming in flood waters caused by Hurricane Ida on Monday. The image above is a file photo from April
Hurricane Ida ripped through southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, causing catastrophic flooding. The image above shows the aftermath of the storm in Lafitte, Louisiana on Monday
News of the alligator attack was first reported by WWL-TV in Louisiana
A woman called police saying that her husband was the victim of an attack by an alligator on Monday
It was later reported by WWL-TV that the attack took place as the man was in his shed, which was inundated with several feet of water
‘This is an area that has a lot of swampland, alligators, very dangerous conditions.
‘[Search and rescue crews] had to wait for the sun to come up this morning. They had a strategy.’
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the state’s focus after Hurricane Ida continues to be centered on search and rescue, to make sure all the hardest-hit areas are checked multiple times.
‘Saving lives is the number one priority,’ he said.
‘Those search and rescue efforts are going to continue all day, and quite frankly for as long as necessary.’
The governor said the Louisiana National Guard alone rescued 191 people across St. John the Baptist, Jefferson and Orleans parishes by boat, helicopter and high-water vehicle.
Rescue crews in St. John the Baptist Parish reported that 800 people were rescued as internet and communications services began to come back online, though officials said that 18,000 residents in the parish remained without power as of late Monday.
More than 5,000 Guard soldiers are working on the disaster response, and more soldiers are expected from other states within days.
Edwards said the state will soon be transitioning into a ‘grid search’ of the hardest hit areas, going to search every single home on each street to determine if anyone is home and needing assistance.
At least 15 people in Slidell were rescued from rooftops on Monday by first responders, according to local officials. The image above shows flooding in Slidell on Monday
‘Then, to make sure that we’ve adequately covered the area, we’ll go back and do a secondary search,’ he said.
‘But what we did mostly to date today was try to catch up on the 911 calls. So we were actively partnered with local authorities and going out and doing search and rescue at individual addresses where we know people had called for help.’
Mayor LaToya Cantrell says a driver in New Orleans drowned during Hurricane Ida, which may raise the storm’s death toll to two.
Cantrell says additional details about the death would come from the coroner’s office, but those were not immediately forthcoming.
‘This case remains under investigation,’ coroner’s spokesman Jason Melancon said when asked in an email about Cantrell’s statement.
He would not answer specific questions about whether the coroner’s office is investigating a drowning death or an Ida-related death.
A person also was killed outside Baton Rouge amid the storm when a tree fell on a home, authorities said.
The name of either victim have yet to be released.
