Baton Rouge, La. (January 19, 2024) — The Louisiana Department of Health is confirming two winter weather-related deaths in Sabine and Rapides parishes. The Rapides Parish death was a 36-year-old male, and the Sabine Parish death was a 73-year-old female. Both deaths were due to hypothermia and confirmed by coroners as weather-related.
These are the first deaths related to the severe winter weather conditions that began on Sunday, January 14 and continued through Wednesday, January 17.
During severe winter weather, LDH urges residents to stay safe:
- Test your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries.
- Never use a stove or oven to heat a home.
- Keep generators outdoors in a well-ventilated area away from doors, windows and vents.
- Turn off generators and let them cool before refueling.
- Keep generators dry to prevent electrocution.
- Plug space heaters directly into the wall socket, not into extension cords.
- Do not use a heater if the cords are frayed or splitting.
- Place space heaters 3-5 feet away from bedding or other flammable materials.
- Keep children away from the heater.
- Never leave the heater unattended.