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Severe Impact of Hurricane Ida Leaves Countless Without Electricity
During the weekend, New Orleans, Louisiana, along with multiple other cities in Louisiana, faced a direct impact from Hurricane Ida. Strong winds and sudden floods have hammered the city, with Governor John Bel Edwards dubbing it one of the most potent storms to hit the area in the past 160 years. Apart from the structural and road impairments, the local power network overseen by Entergy New Orleans has suffered significant harm, resulting in a virtually complete power blackout across the entire city.
Currently, the sole remaining power sources are emergency backup generators supporting the city’s storm drainage mechanism. Similarly, the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans is employing generators to sustain the city’s water flow, advising residents to use water judiciously to avert sewer congestion.
“We have secured backup power for specific stations & will deploy these units once city traversal is safe,” tweeted SWB New Orleans. “In a bid to prevent sewage backlogs, we urge residents to limit domestic water usage to reduce the wastewater volume we must eliminate.”
Elsewhere, levees have fractured and overflowed due to the torrential rain. In Jean Lafitte, rescue squads have been mobilized to locate approximately 200 individuals believed to be stranded by the tidal surge.
In a post, Louisiana resident Trevon Gauno captured footage of rain and wind rampaging through his residence after Hurricane Ida ripped off his roof on Sunday.
He recounted being in his room when the roof was torn off, seeking refuge at a nearby relative’s house. pic.com/4ZswOK3qNt
— NPR (@NPR) August 30, 2021
“We have a small team tasked with rescuing those facing immediate peril,” shared Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr. with local TV station WGNO-TV. “This is an incredibly hazardous situation. I have never witnessed so much water in my life. We’ve lost our school and everything, but now it’s purely a rescue operation to save lives.”
“I believe lives are currently in jeopardy,” he added. “Our priority is to evacuate them swiftly once the weather eases, we are mobilizing resources to reach them.“
As of the latest update, the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, with a warning still in place.
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