Hurricane "Ida" destroyed houses in the southwest of the USA, left millions of people without electricity and killed at least four people. And it evidently harbors a new danger for those who suffer on the spot. Because with the water flowing into the communities, alligators apparently also penetrate into the residential areas. According to official information, a 71-year-old man was attacked and killed by an alligator last Monday in the flooded waters of Louisiana. This is reported by the New York Times and USA Today, among others.

The man's wife witnessed the incident near the town of Slidell, near New Orleans.

She had watched the reptile tear off one of her husband's arms, after which she tried to pull him up a few steps before the tide and then went to get medical help.

When she came back her husband was gone.

Jason Gaubert, a spokesman for the local fire department, reports it.

It is now believed that the man was dead.

His body has not yet been found.

The president of Jefferson Parish, the county where the attack happened, Cynthia Lee Sheng, pointed out that some wetlands have been flooded and the dangers to first responders and residents of the area are real.

Although the south is home to an estimated five million alligators, reptilian attacks during or after cyclones are rare. According to researchers from the University of Florida, they hide in their natural habitat when a storm approaches. The reptiles perceive changes in pressure via sensors and can thus recognize that a storm is approaching. Joe Wasilewski, a conservation biologist who has worked with crocodiles and alligators for over 40 years, told the Florida Times-Union in 2019: “The alligators are immediately seeking shelter. They have houses or caves that they call home, usually under a mud or canal, and believe me, the first thing they will do is go into those houses and caves. "

However, other researchers also suggest that alligators tend to move when the water level is high.

And this could also bring them to places that they actually do not prefer.

Alligators have been spotted both during and after major storms in the southern states in recent years.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, around 250 alligators escaped from their enclosures in Mississippi, which were housed on a ranch and in an excursion center.

Hundreds of people saved, at least four dead so far

Meanwhile, the situation has eased somewhat after Hurricane “Ida” passed through.

Aides have rescued hundreds of people from flooded areas in Louisiana.

More than a million households are still without electricity, as local authorities announced.

Four deaths have been reported as a result of the storm in Louisiana and the eastern state of Mississippi.

In view of the great damage in Louisiana, the authorities feared that the number of victims there could increase.

Since hitting the coast on Sunday as a hurricane with a strength of four out of five, “Ida” has weakened considerably.

The storm moved across the eastern Mississippi on Tuesday and brought a lot of rain and wind speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour, as the National Hurricane Center said.