Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Hurricane Ida death toll reaches 4; millions remain without power; Gov. Edwards warns: 'Now is really the most dangerous time'

 

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The death toll from Hurricane Ida rose to at least four after a highway collapsed in Mississippi, millions were still without power, and flooding remained a threat Tuesday as remnants of the monster storm swept across the Southeast. 

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"Some of these cars are stacked on top of each other," Mississippi Highway Patrol Cp. Cal Robertson said. 

Two deaths have been confirmed in Louisiana, including a person hit by a falling tree outside Baton Rouge and a driver who drowned in New Orleans. Gov. John Bel Edwards said at least 671 people had been rescued from floodwaters in Louisiana by Monday afternoon. 

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Power remained out Tuesday to more than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and another 75,000 in Mississippi, Alabama and Virginia, according to grid-monitoring website poweroutage.com.

Ida roared onto the Gulf Coast near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday with 150-mph winds before barreling toward Mississippi. Ida had quieted to tropical depression status Tuesday with sustained winds of 30 mph. The National Weather Service warned that the heavy rain and flooding threat would spread from the Tennessee and Ohio valleys up through the Mid-Atlantic states on Wednesday.

a herd of sheep walking along a river next to a body of water: Flooded streets and homes are shown in the Spring Meadow subdivision in LaPlace, La., after Hurricane Ida moved through Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.© Steve Helber, AP Flooded streets and homes are shown in the Spring Meadow subdivision in LaPlace, La., after Hurricane Ida moved through Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.

"Considerable flash flooding is possible," meteorologist Alex Lamers said.

Hundreds rescued in Louisiana, where more than 1 million are out of power; 2 dead

Gov. Edwards warns residents who left to stay away: 'Now is really the most dangerous time'

The Louisiana governor and a top federal official delivered a clear, concise message Tuesday to those eager to return home after fleeing from powerful Hurricane Ida: Stay away for now.

Speaking at a news conference in hard-hit LaPlace, part of the New Orleans metropolitan area, Gov. John Bel Edwards said current conditions in parts of the region are not suitable for residents.

“Many of the life-supporting infrastructure elements are not present, they’re not operating right now,’’ Edwards said. “So if you have already evacuated, do not return here or elsewhere in southeast Louisiana until the Office of Emergency Preparedness tells you that it’s ready to receive you. The schools are not open, the businesses are not open, the hospitals are slammed. There’s not water in your home, and there’s not going to be electricity.’’

More than 1 million homes and businesses are still without power in Louisiana after it was walloped by Ida on Sunday, and Edwards warned that the heat index is expected to hit the 100-degree mark in the next two weeks, longer than it will take for some areas to get electricity back.

He also said that while there have been two confirmed deaths in the state so far, the number is certain to rise. He pointed out that historically in major storms the majority of fatalities occur during the response, be it from heat exhaustion, motorists driving through floodwaters, people using power equipment they’re not familiar with or getting poisoned by carbon monoxide from portable generators.

“Now is really the most dangerous time, over the next week, couple of weeks,’’ Edwards said, “so we’re asking people to be patient, we’re asking people to be careful.’’

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, acknowledged communication systems were impaired by the storm, and said FEMA personnel will be available to register affected residents for federal assistance. She named several other federal agencies already on the ground lending support, and exhorted residents to check in on their neighbors and loved ones.

“People are going to need help, and what I have found across the country is just how amazing it is that the communities come together and help each other out,’’ Criswell said. “It really goes a long way.’’

New Orleans sets up aid stations while waiting word on power resumption

The utility Entergy is expected to announce Tuesday afternoon the first details of when New Orleans might get power again, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said at a midday news conference.

Cooling stations with air conditioning and water, along with facilities for pets, are being set up around New Orleans, Cantrell said. The city is also working with the National Guard to open point of distribution sites, or PODS, that will offer ice, water and meals. 

Residents begin returning to battered Lafourche Parish

Lafourche residents were allowed to return home beginning at noon CT Tuesday, the parish Sheriff's Office said, although conditions will be difficult. Residents of the parish, home to almost 100,000 people southwest of New Orleans, face a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Authorities warned that power will remain out "for some time." Many homes have no clean running water, and nearly all communication is down, including cellphone service parishwide.

"Your home may be severely damaged and uninhabitable," the office said in a statement. "We do not have access to food at this time due to the amount of damage to stores, so please bring all supplies you need to self-sustain while you are here."

– Dan Copp, The Courier

New Orleans airport cancels flights for third day

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport canceled all incoming and outgoing commercial flights for a third day Tuesday, and at least 197 cancellations were already reported for Wednesday. The airport said the lack of power and water meant no air conditioning or restrooms. Parking operators have not observed any significant damage to vehicles, the airport said in a tweet. 

The terminal, runways and taxiways appeared to have sustained no serious damage, officials said. Debris was being cleared and some perimeter fencing was being repaired.

Drinkable water issues affecting more than 640,000 people

Eighteen water systems were out of service in southern Louisiana, affecting more than 312,000 people, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. An additional 14 systems serving 329,000 people were under boil-water advisories. Covington Mayor Mark Johnson said the advisory will be in affect in his city of more than 10,000 until crews have completed a damage assessment of the water infrastructure. Some locals responded on local media by inquiring how they can boil water with no electricity.

Residents in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish were asked to conserve water to prevent sewer systems from backing up.

New Orleans police deploy anti-looting teams

The New Orleans Police Department said it has deployed anti-looting teams across the city to protect property during the recovery process. Videos circulated on social media  appear to show some businesses being cleaned out by looters. Mayor LaToya Cantrell emphasized at a press conference on Monday that “there is no widespread looting operation going on throughout the city of New Orleans,” and vowed to lock up anyone caught in the act.

"Looting will NOT be tolerated and (we) encourage everyone to be good neighbors and say something when you see something," the department tweeted.

Waverly, Tennessee, could face more flooding 10 days after tragedy

The remnants of Hurricane Ida are headed to Tennessee and are expected to bring up to five inches of rain to the town of Waverly, where 20 people died in flooding just 10 days ago. The forecast includes a flash flood watch. Waverly is expected to receive 24 hours of almost continuous moderate to heavy rain through Tuesday night. 

"The system overall is weakening, but it is going to bring a lot of rain up here," said John Cohen, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Nashville.

Last week's high temperatures and sun helped dry out lawns and the growing piles of debris. But a blast from Ida could hinder the town's effort to trudge forward. Gretchen Turner's kitchen cabinets, leather couch, suitcases and many of her other belongings were piled onto her front lawn.

"It's sort of demoralizing when you're working so hard and then everything gets wet," Turner said. "We still have lots of dirt everywhere, but it's about to be mud again."

Two die in Mississippi highway collapse

Two people were killed and at least 10 others were injured when their vehicles plunged into a deep hole where a highway collapsed after Ida blew through George County, Mississippi. Torrential rain may have caused the collapse, and the drivers may not have seen that the roadway in front of them had disappeared Monday night, Mississippi Highway Patrol Cp. Cal Robertson said. Seven vehicles were involved, including a motorcycle. A crane was brought in to lift them out of the hole, which Robertson said was 50 to 60 feet in length and 20 to 30 feet deep.

How to help: Want to donate or volunteer to assist those affected by Hurricane Ida? Here's how to help

Over 1 million remain without power; some could be dark for 3 weeks

More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana remained dark Tuesday, meaning more than 2 million state residents remain without power, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. The utility Entergy Louisiana said some customers could experience outages for more than three weeks. Damage to eight high-voltage lines took out power for New Orleans and Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, as well as parts of St. Charles and Terrebonne parishes, the company said. One transmission tower collapsed, causing the tower’s conductor and wires to land in the Mississippi River.

Entergy New Orleans CEO Deanna Rodriguez said it was too soon to estimate when power would return to all customers.

“This will be a marathon, not a sprint,” Rodriguez said. “We’re working as safely and quickly as we can ... but we must all be prepared for the recovery to take some time."

Slide 1 of 36: Hurricane Ida leaves destruction behind near Grand Isle, LA. Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
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1/36 SLIDES © SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network
Hurricane Ida leaves destruction behind near Grand Isle, LA. Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.

Ida creating a 'pandemic tinderbox' for parts of Louisiana

Experts worry Ida's impact, straining hospital and health resources, will worsen COVID-19 spread in the state's low-lying parishes, where some vaccination rates are only about a third of the population and cases have surged to all-time highs. Crowded shelters, delayed treatments and inundated hospitals and intensive care units are a recipe that put under-vaccinated communities at dire risk for more infections, experts said. The unvaccinated account for the majority of deaths and hospitalizations.

“This is a pandemic tinderbox,” said pediatrician Irwin Redlener, founding director of Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness.

– Nada Hassanein

Alligator rips off man's arm in floodwaters

A man was attacked by an alligator in floodwaters near the city of Slidell, just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Jason Gaubert, a spokesman for the St. Tammany Fire District No. 1, told USA TODAY. Gaubert said the attack took the man's arm off and his wife went to call for help. When she returned, he had disappeared in the floodwaters. The man's body hasn't been recovered and officials were investigating. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng noted some swamplands had flooded and dangers were real for first responders and those living in the area. 

"This is an area that has a lot of swampland, alligators, very dangerous conditions," she told CNN, adding that some areas saw flooding that was "beyond chest high. It's up to the top of the roof." 

– Christal Hayes

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ida death toll reaches 4; millions remain without power; Gov. Edwards warns: 'Now is really the most dangerous time'

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