Hurricane Ida leaves behind devastation and flooded neighborhoods; rescuers save hundreds across Louisiana
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(CNN)Viewing the aftermath of Hurricane Ida from the air, US Coast Guard Vice Adm. Steven Poulin saw utter devastation.
“It was catastrophic,” he told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.” “My heart breaks for the people in Louisiana.”Poulin said the pictures he’s seen in the media don’t reveal the extent of the storm’s wrath.
TRACK IDA’S PATH
Officials have said at least two people died because of Sunday’s Category 4 hurricane, but that’s a number the governor said he expects will rise.Read MoreIn Louisiana on the day after the storm, some neighborhoods were underwater and many streets were full of debris.More than 1 million homes and businesses were without power, and that could be the case for many residents for days or weeks.
How you can help Hurricane Ida victimsAnd Ida, now a slow-moving tropical depression over Mississippi, is still threatening to flood communities not just in the Deep South but also into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys as it crawls north over the next few days.Sign up for email updates for significant storms In Louisiana, rescue and recovery efforts were well underway in parts of the state where Ida slogged through for hours as a Category 4 hurricane.In St. John the Baptist Parish, where 17 inches of rain and 5 feet of storm surge flooded the area just northwest of New Orleans, nearly 800 people had to be rescued Monday. “This is one of the worst natural disasters I’ve ever seen in St. John,” parish President Jaclyn Hotard said.While damage was immense, there were no reports of any deaths, she said.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES
Communities hit by Ida could see power outages that last weeks
The good news for Louisiana, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards, was none of the state’s levees failed, though some were overtopped.The governor said that, while Ida was an extremely catastrophic hurricane, the “silver lining” was that the state’s levee systems performed extremely well, particularly the one in the metropolitan New Orleans Area.”There were a few smaller levees that were overtopped, to some degree, and for some duration of time and that did result in some people’s homes are being flooded,” Edwards said. “But they did not fail.”Still, storm damage had left more than 1 million customers in Louisiana without power as of Monday night, according to PowerOutage.US.
A boat carries people in a flooded area of Highway 51 near LaPlace, Louisiana, on Monday morning.Entergy Louisiana said some of its customers could be without power for three weeks. “While 90% of customers will be restored sooner, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan for the possibility of experiencing extended power outages,” the company said.Without power for things such as air conditioning in the summer heat, the power outages could be deadly, New Orleans City Councilmember Joe Giarrusso said.A Facebook post from St. Charles Parish said it was “highly likely” the outages could extend a month.It was one of the cities and parishes on Monday afternoon that were letting people who evacuated know whether it was safe to return.”If you evacuated and can stay in place for a few more days, we highly advise it,” officials said in the post. “When you do return, you will need to bring everything you need for at least a week including food, ice, water and fuel.”
Climate change is making hurricanes stronger, slower and wetter. Ida checked all the boxesNew Orleans also said to wait, tweeting: “If you have evacuated out of #NOLA, we request that you DO NOT RETURN until further notice. There is widespread debris, power remains out, and emergency services are working to respond to those still in the city. We will let you know when it is safe to come home.”St. Bernard Parish announced residents could come back but only if they could deal without electricity for a few days.Other communities were still trying to assess the damage.
Rescuers hampered by poor phone service
Rescuers were getting numerous reports of people who climbed into attics or onto roofs as waters rose in their homes, especially in parishes just outside New Orleans. About 15 people were helped off roofs and into boats early Monday in the city of Slidell alone, and rescuers in high-water vehicles still were taking people to safety in the lower side of town in the late morning, Mayor Greg Cromer said.Because cell phone service was sporadic in much of the region, rescuers sometimes were having to find for themselves who needed help.”We’ve had some people that … waded out (of neighborhoods) and flagged police officers down and told us what is going on,” Cromer, whose city is northeast of New Orleans, told CNN on Monday morning.
Hurricane Ida destroyed a historic building that was a second home to jazz great Louis Armstrong”Seems like there’s hundreds, possibly more, people trapped in their houses, with some extent of water — from a foot deep to people in the attics,” Jordy Bloodsworth, fleet captain of the Louisiana Cajun Navy volunteer rescue group, told CNN earlier Monday morning.
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPhilip Adams walks through what remains of his living room and kitchen at his destroyed home in Lockport, Louisiana, on Monday, September 6.Hide Caption 1 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastDamage is seen on the roof of a New Orleans apartment complex on Sunday, September 5. Elderly residents were still living at the building with water-soaked carpets and no power, a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana.Hide Caption 2 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastShoppers buy supplies at a grocery store in New Orleans despite the power still being out on Thursday, September 2.Hide Caption 3 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastCows are herded into a pen in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, on Thursday. “All of our neighbors’ cows are mixed up in this bunch, so we’re here rescuing them, getting them off the road and out of the water,” Chris Shivers said when asked why his group was herding the cows. “They’ve been standing in the water now for several days without anything to eat or drink, so they’re under a lot of stress and have seen a lot. The hurricane is a disaster, and these cows will probably never be the same.”Hide Caption 4 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastNational Guard members unload ice at a distribution center in Montegut, Louisiana, on Thursday.Hide Caption 5 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastUnattended horses are seen during a storm in Belle Chasse on Thursday.Hide Caption 6 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastTiffany Miller embraces her daughter Desilynn, left, and godchild Charleigh after the family returned to their destroyed home in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, on Wednesday, September 1.Hide Caption 7 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastThis aerial photo shows the hurricane aftermath in Grand Isle, Louisiana, on August 31. Grand Isle, Louisiana’s last remaining inhabited barrier island at the southern tip of the state, bore the brunt of the Category 4 hurricane.Hide Caption 8 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastThe Maldonado family stands outside their damaged home in Barataria, Louisiana, on August 31. “I’ve lost everything in my trailer because of the hurricane,” said Fusto Maldonado when asked about the storm’s impact. “I’ve lost everything, my family has lost everything, and we’re now trying to find help. We all live in this area and now it’s all gone.”Hide Caption 9 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA dead fish lies on a road in Leeville, Louisiana, on August 31.Hide Caption 10 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA shrimper works to salvage his partially submerged boat in Golden Meadow on August 31.Hide Caption 11 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA palm tree is bent in half in Galliano, Louisiana, on August 31.Hide Caption 12 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPeople wait for a gas truck to arrive at a gas station in New Orleans on August 31.Hide Caption 13 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastDestroyed homes are surrounded by floodwaters near Point-aux-Chenes, Louisiana, on August 31. Hide Caption 14 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastWorkers remove a tree that fell on a home in Houma, Louisiana.Hide Caption 15 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastWhat’s left of a home stands in Grand Isle on August 31.Hide Caption 16 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastMichael Wilson stands in the doorway of his flood-damaged home in Norco, Louisiana, on August 30.Hide Caption 17 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastHomes near Norco are surrounded by floodwaters on August 30.Hide Caption 18 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA rain shower soaks evacuees in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30.Hide Caption 19 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA damaged McDonald’s sign is seen in Raceland, Louisiana, on August 30.Hide Caption 20 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA man rides a bicycle in front of a damaged building in Houma on August 30.Hide Caption 21 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastAn oil slick is seen on top of floodwaters in Kraemer, Louisiana, on August 30.Hide Caption 22 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastResidents wave at a US Coast Guard helicopter while waiting to be rescued from their flooded home in LaPlace on August 30.Hide Caption 23 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastTheophilus Charles sits inside his damaged home in Houma on August 30.Hide Caption 24 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA highway is flooded near LaPlace on August 30.Hide Caption 25 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastResidents are rescued from floodwaters in LaPlace on August 30.Hide Caption 26 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA damaged historic building lies in ruins in New Orleans’ Central Business District on August 30.Hide Caption 27 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA barge damages a bridge connecting Lafitte and Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, on August 30.Hide Caption 28 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastMarquita Jenkins stands in the ruins of her hair salon in LaPlace on August 30.Hide Caption 29 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA destroyed car is seen after an apartment building burned overnight in Kenner, Louisiana.Hide Caption 30 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA resident walks through floodwaters in LaPlace on August 30.Hide Caption 31 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastSiblings watch men assess damage outside a hotel in Houma on August 30.Hide Caption 32 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA woman pushes a stroller past a boarded-up building in the French Quarter of New Orleans on August 30.Hide Caption 33 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA downed tree lies on a house in New Orleans on August 30.Hide Caption 34 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastMembers of the Louisiana National Guard help with recovery efforts in New Orleans on August 30.Hide Caption 35 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA man looks up next to a section of roof that was ripped off a building in the French Quarter of New Orleans on August 30.Hide Caption 36 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastLights from a TV broadcast illuminate an otherwise dark Bourbon Street in New Orleans on August 30.Hide Caption 37 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastMontegut Fire Chief Toby Henry walks back to his fire truck in the rain as firefighters cut through trees on the road in Bourg, Louisiana, on August 29.Hide Caption 38 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastFirefighters cut through downed trees on a road in Bourg on August 29.Hide Caption 39 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastBarges are seen docked on the Mississippi River as Hurricane Ida hit Destrehan, Louisiana, on August 29.Hide Caption 40 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPeople walk through the French Quarter in New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 41 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastEuropean Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet took this photo of Hurricane Ida from the International Space Station on August 29.Hide Caption 42 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastThe Royal Dutch Shell refinery in Norco is seen as Hurricane Ida made landfall on August 29. More than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil production facilities were shut down, regulators said, indicating the storm’s significant impact on energy supply.Hide Caption 43 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPeople work inside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, on August 29.Hide Caption 44 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA cyclist wears a face mask while riding through the rain and high winds in New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 45 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastFirefighters look out the window of a shelter in Bourg on August 29.Hide Caption 46 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastStorm clouds pass over a cemetery in New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 47 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastLaKeisha Verdin holds her 3-month-old son, Kevin, as she walks onto the front porch where her family was watching weather updates on the local news in Houma.Hide Caption 48 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA news crew reports from the edge of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 49 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastWind blows Monroe Best’s hair and face mask in New Orleans.Hide Caption 50 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastNew Orleans’ Bourbon Street is nearly empty on August 29.Hide Caption 51 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA vehicle is abandoned in a flooded ditch next to a highway in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi.Hide Caption 52 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA man carrying his belongings walks past a sign outside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 53 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA wall of rain moves over downtown New Orleans on August 29.Hide Caption 54 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastThe Boudreaux family sits on their front porch as they await the arrival of Hurricane Ida.Hide Caption 55 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA man walks along the Mississippi River near the French Quarter in New Orleans early on August 29.Hide Caption 56 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPeople stand in line at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on August 28. Many residents were evacuating the area ahead of Hurricane Ida.Hide Caption 57 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastCrews reopen a flood gate to help trapped motorists who missed a closure deadline on August 28.Hide Caption 58 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastKeith Clark brings a rope to a friend to help tie down a houseboat before he evacuated Jean Lafitte on August 28.Hide Caption 59 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastNikeia Washington holds her granddaughter, Halia Zenon, at a hotel in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana, where they evacuated ahead of the storm.Hide Caption 60 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastPeople walk down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on August 28. Evacuation was voluntary for parts of the city inside its flood protection system. Other areas were under a mandatory evacuation order.Hide Caption 61 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastLarry Ackman, bottom, helps neighbor Mike Jackson, left, and his son Cody board up windows in Morgan City, Louisiana.Hide Caption 62 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastTraffic moves slowly August 28 along Interstate 10 West in Vinton, Louisiana.Hide Caption 63 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA man drives a tractor through a flooded street in Guanimar, Cuba, on August 28. Before entering the Gulf, Ida made landfall twice over Cuba as a Category 1 hurricane.Hide Caption 64 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastUS President Joe Biden speaks during a FEMA briefing on August 28. “This weekend is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” Biden said, “and it’s a stark reminder that we have to do everything we can to prepare the people in the region to make sure we’re ready to respond.”Hide Caption 65 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastDawn breaks over a Hurricane Katrina memorial at Shell Beach in St. Bernard, Louisiana, on August 28. Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005.Hide Caption 66 of 73 Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastClare and Joe Cermak work on putting storm shutters up on their home in Louisiana’s St. Charles Parish on August 28.Hide Caption 67 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastHighway traffic moves slowly near Kenner as many residents fled the Louisiana city.Hide Caption 68 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastGregory Moore, left, helps fill sand bags as residents in Gulfport, Mississippi, prepared for the storm on August 28.Hide Caption 69 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastJohn Guenther unloads about 400 crab traps that he had to pull out of the water near his home in the eastern St. Bernard Parish on August 27.Hide Caption 70 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastJennifer Tate fuels up a gas can August 27 in Pass Christian, Mississippi.Hide Caption 71 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastWorkers stack bags of ice into a gas station freezer in Jefferson, Louisiana, on August 27.Hide Caption 72 of 73
Photos: Hurricane Ida devastates Gulf CoastA resident hammers the shutters of a 100-year-old house in New Orleans on August 27.Hide Caption 73 of 73
Woman says family had to escape to the attic
In LaPlace, Tiffany Miller was stuck in her attic Sunday night after floodwaters came into her home, she said. Perhaps 3 to 5 feet of water had entered homes in her subdivision, she told CNN affiliate WDSU.”When we got in the attic, the water was right below my knees,” Miller said. “I know that we’re not in it by ourselves, and it’s going to be OK.” Paul Middendorf, volunteering with the Crowdsource Rescue group, paddled solo through LaPlace in a canoe and ferried dozens of people Monday from their flooded homes, he said.”Most of (the rescues) were in the attic,” he said. “The water in the back of that neighborhood was about 10 feet deep or higher.”
Flooding in Laplace, LA (permission to use please credit Mike's Weather Page). pic.twitter.com/ZF2PyxkHql
— Mike's Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) August 30, 2021
The United Cajun Navy, a separate volunteer rescue group, made more than 300 rescues by noon Monday, including in Houma, a roughly 60-mile drive southwest of New Orleans, Todd Terrell, the group’s president, said.
Governor ‘fully expects the death count will go up’
Ida made landfall Sunday near southeastern Louisiana’s Port Fourchon as a Category 4 hurricane around 1 p.m. and slowly scraped across the state, delivering catastrophic winds and torrential rain to the same places for hours. Video from these areas showed parts of roofs flying off homes and businesses, fallen trees lying on cars and homes, and high water taking over roads and communities in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.In hard-hit Houma, some buildings were leveled, and others were missing pieces of roofing. A woman looks over damage to a neighborhood in Kenner, Louisiana, on Monday. Lionel Hawkins and his wife stayed in their house as the storm hit; it sounded bad, so they knelt and prayed, he said.”Went down and got on a knee and asked the Lord … to protect us. Give us another opportunity to breathe,” Hawkins told CNN on Monday. His home still stands, though the roof is damaged and the carport was blown apart.Houma is in Terrebonne Parish, where water was still high in the southern part of the parish Monday afternoon. Many roads were blocked by debris blown by the storm.”Before we can begin the systematic process of letting residents and evacuees back into the parish, roads must be cleared and down power lines must be checked,” said parish President Gordon Dove.
A section of roof blocks an intersection in the French Quarter of New Orleans.St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper told CNN his parish has experienced damage to personal property and homes, and widespread power outages, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann during a briefing on Monday afternoon said the parish fared well during Hurricane Ida, with virtually no flooding inside the levee system, and encouraged residents who had evacuated to return if they chose to, as all entries into the parish are open.”If you can come home and you have a generator and you think you can be comfortable without electricity for at least a few days, then come on back,” Pohlman said. “We’re here to protect you and we want you back.”Council Member Richard Lewis said only a few gas stations were open and the wait for fuel was four to five hours.
Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana took this photo while on an aerial tour Monday of Port Fouchon.Gov. Edwards urged residents to check on their neighbors but otherwise refrain from traveling Monday morning because of flooded roadways, debris and downed power lines.Edwards “fully expects the death count will go up considerably throughout the day” as searches and rescues go on, he told MSNBC on Monday. “We know that individuals are out there waiting to be rescued because their homes are not habitable. … Please know that we have thousands of people out right now with high water vehicles and boats who are doing search and rescue,” the governor said in a video posted on Twitter. According to the state Department of Health, one of the two known deaths occurred when a man drowned after trying to drive through floodwater near I-10 and West End Blvd in New Orleans.
Siblings watch as men move the scaffolding that fell on top of a vehicle outside of a hotel in Houma, Louisiana, on Monday.Ida slammed into Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, tying with 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 as the strongest ever to hit the state.
How Hurricane Ida compares to Hurricane KatrinaIn New Orleans on Monday, resident Judy Arabie surveyed her neighborhood, where a utility pole and transformer had fallen onto a car. During the storm, part of her roof was torn open — and she couldn’t sleep as the storm went through overnight.”Last year we had (Hurricane) Zeta, and electricity was out for about five days, but it was nothing compared to this — the winds, the gusts, the shingles flying everywhere,” Arabie said.In part of Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, flash flooding was reported early Monday morning after a levee failed near Highway 23, according to the National Weather Service. Authorities were rushing to evacuate people in the Jesuit Bend area there as water rushed up the highway, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Monday.
‘This is turning into a rainmaker’
Ida will threaten more flooding Monday in the Deep South and elsewhere as it marches north over the next few days. “It’s the rainfall that we’re worried about now. This is turning into a rainmaker,” CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said Monday morning.A few more inches of rain could fall Monday in southern parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, bringing storm totals there to 10 to 24 inches, the National Hurricane Center said.Coastal Alabama to the far western Florida Panhandle could get storm totals of 6 to 15 inches of rain through Tuesday. Central Mississippi to far western Alabama could get 4 to 12 inches of rain through Monday. The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Mississippi, tweeted: “Gusty winds, heavy rain, & some tornado threat will spread E-NE through the afternoon. Power outages, downed trees & powerlines & flash flooding remain possible.”More than 82,000 customers were without power in Mississippi, PowerOutage.US reported.
The storm is expected to turn northeast Monday and head to the middle Tennessee Valley and Upper Ohio Valley through Wednesday. That could pose further flooding problems in parts of Middle Tennessee that are still recovering from a flood emergency last weekend. The Middle Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, the central and southern Appalachians and the Mid-Atlantic could generally receive 3 to 6 inches of rain through Wednesday, the hurricne center said.
Source: edition.cnn.com
