Governor John Bel Edwards was in Lake Charles on Thursday to assess damage from Wednesday's severe weather.
The Governor held a press conference at 10:00 am at Chennault Airport.
Preliminary reports from the National Weather Service indicate an EF-2 tornado touched down in a neighborhood just outside the city, traveling for about 300 yards and damaging around a dozen homes. Two people sustained minor injuries.
Portions of St. Tammany and Washington Parishes saw 5" of rain, along with strong winds in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, all of which saw impacts from Hurricane Ida two months ago. Edwards said people staying in a temporary shelter in Chauvin had to be moved after the building was damaged during the weather.
A severe disaster declaration isn't likely given what's known now, Edwards said, because the damage isn't such that the state or parish is unable to take care of it; however, the state is asking residents to report any damages at damage.la.gov. Read more on that here.
Following his press conference, Edwards departed for Scotland where he will attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties.
"I have no doubt that climate change is real and it is changing our weather, and not for the better. It's one of the reasons I'm going...I feel we're more affected by climate change than any other state in the nation, not just with respect to storms but also sea level rise and so forth," said Edwards, after mentioning his trip to the conference.
The full press conference can be viewed below:
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