Severe weather has killed three people in Louisiana this week after slow-moving thunderstorms caused a wide swath of damage on Monday and left behind severe flooding in the area.
Portions of south and southwest Louisiana on Monday received as much as five inches of rain, leading to severe flooding in a region that saw significant damage from two hurricanes just six months ago.
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, the body of a 61-year-old man was found in a submerged vehicle in Lake Charles Tuesday afternoon in a ditch in a low-lying area off East Prien Lake Road.
The state's two other confirmed storm-related deaths occurred in East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge Parish.
The East Baton Rouge Parish coroner confirmed the death of a 33-year-old man that was found in a flooded vehicle after the water receded in Baton Rouge on Bluebonnet Drive.
The first storm-related death was confirmed Tuesday by the West Baton Rouge Parish Coroner when a 40-year-old man found in a vehicle that crashed into a flooded canal in Port Allen. One other person was injured in that crash, and another is still missing.
Monday's storms also spawned a possible tornado in Jeff Davis Parish. The tornado or high winds caused extensive damage to a handful of trailers in the area — trailers that were only occupied after residents were forced to move after last fall's hurricanes.
This story was originally published by Scripps station KATC in Lafayette, Louisiana.
