Status: 08/30/2021 3:34 p.m.
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Hurricane Ida apparently caused severe damage in the New Orleans region: the electricity supply collapsed in many places. Not far from Baton Rouge, a person was killed by a tree.
More than a million people in the southern United States are without electricity because of Hurricane Ida. According to the website poweroutage.us, the state of Louisiana, where the cyclone hit land, is particularly affected. There are around 996,000 households without electricity, in the neighboring state of Mississippi around 36,000.
The power went out in the entire New Orleans metropolitan area. “The only electricity in the city comes from generators,” wrote the city operations center on Twitter. Almost 400,000 people live in New Orleans.
It is unlikely that the supply will be restored anytime soon, said the utility Entergy. The hurricane damaged all eight lines responsible for supplying electricity to the city. The repair work continued.
Man killed by tree
There are now reports of one fatality. In the Prairieville community, a person was fatally injured by a falling tree, the sheriff’s office said. When the police arrived, the officers could only determine the death of the victim. The place is located southeast of Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.
US President Biden declares Louisiana a state of disaster
daily news 2 p.m., 8/30/2021
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Extent of destruction not yet foreseeable
Photos and videos show houses and streets that were under water, covered buildings and numerous uprooted trees in the coastal areas. Low-lying areas southwest of New Orleans, for which evacuation orders had previously been issued, were particularly hard hit. There were also reports of severe damage from the small town of Houma further north with around 30,000 inhabitants, which was directly in the path of the storm.
Governor John Bel Edwards warned that the true extent of the destruction in the state will only become apparent once the storm has withdrawn in a northeastern direction and rescue and recovery operations can begin.
The situation is tense for many hospitals. Because of the extremely high number of corona patients, they could not be evacuated. Not a single bed was left in his Baton Rouge hospital, said Dr. Christoper Thomas on CNN: “The hurricane feels almost normal to us. But together with Corona it is really stressful. And we are worried about our oxygen supply.”
“Use all the power of this country”
President Joe Biden accepted the Louisiana state of emergency and approved federal aid. He also addressed the residents directly. “As soon as the storm is over, we will use all the power in this country to rescue and rebuild,” said Biden.
2.5 million meals, three million liters of drinking water, 76,000 tarpaulins and 64 generators have already been placed in the region. In addition, hundreds of helpers, 90 ambulances, as well as eight ambulance planes and seven helicopters have been provided, said the disaster control agency Fema.
Sven Plöger, ARD weather editor, on the special features of hurricane “Ida”
Topics of the day 10:45 p.m., August 29, 2021
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“Ida” is losing strength
The center of hurricane “Ida” hit the coast at Port Fourchon southwest of New Orleans on Sunday afternoon as an extremely dangerous storm of force four out of five – with winds of 150 miles per hour. Over the warm Gulf of Mexico, “Ida” had gained massively in strength, but had lost its force in the meantime.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has now downgraded “Ida” from a hurricane to a tropical storm. However, dangerous tidal waves, violent winds and flash floods over parts of southeast Louisiana and in the south of the state of Mississippi are still to be expected. The cyclone now brings maximum sustained wind speeds of 95 kilometers per hour, announced the NHC in Miami.
The hurricane moved very slowly over land, so the locations in its path are exposed to extreme winds for a long time. Experts therefore feared great damage.
“The danger is not over yet”, Kerstin Klein, ARD Washington, on the cyclone “Ida”
tagesschau24 4:00 p.m., 8/30/2021
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Memories of “Katrina”
Exactly 16 years ago to the day, Hurricane Katrina hit land in the area. An estimated 1,800 people were killed at the time.
With information from Claudia Sarre, ARD-Studio Washington
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Hurricane “Ida” hits the Gulf Coast with full force
Claudia Sarre, ARD Washington, August 30, 2021 12:29 am
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