Power outages caused by Hurricane Ida led many people in Louisiana to turn to potentially unsafe generators, and on Sept. 6, the state reported 141 emergency department visits for carbon monoxide poisoning in the past week.
The Louisiana Department of Health said the cases occurred in the following regions: Greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge, River Parishes and Northshore. Four people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning during and after the hurricane, state officials said.
"Please use your portable or stand-by generator safely by following … advice from the Office of the State Fire Marshal," the state's department of health pleaded before sharing generator safety reminders, such as keeping generators at least 20 feet away from a home.
Nearly 600,000 residences and businesses in southeast Louisiana were left without power Aug. 29 because of the storm, and while many turned to generators to get some power in homes, it is unclear how many of the carbon monoxide cases are directly related to generator use, according to Nola.com. Generators can be dangerous if not used appropriately since they emit carbon monoxide, which can lead to death in enclosed spaces.
Texas also saw a spike in carbon monoxide poisoning cases after many Texans turned to generators for heat amid widespread power outages caused by a rare winter storm in February.
The Louisiana Department of Health's full guidance for generator use is available here.