In New Orleans, the blackout caused by Hurricane Ida makes the summer heat unbearable. But in some areas outside the city, this misery is exacerbated by lack of water, flooding in entire neighborhoods and severe damage to homes.
Four days after the initial impact of Hurricane Ida, the consequences of the storm – and progress in recovery – were felt differently in affected populations in Louisiana.
In New Orleans, a small number of businesses and homes resumed electrical service Wednesday. City teams cleared some streets of rubble and fallen trees and several neighborhood businesses reopened.
An updated system of dikes protected the city from catastrophic floods after Ida hit the city on Sunday with winds of 230 kilometers (150 miles) per hour, which equaled the fifth strongest hurricane ever recorded on the northern mainland. American.
Outside of New Orleans, some neighborhoods were still flooded and residents were still trying to assess the damage to their homes and properties. More than 1,200 people were walking through some of the communities most affected by Ida to seek out those in need, according to the Louisiana Fire Department. President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Louisiana on Friday to assess the damage, the White House said.
Gayle Lawrence lost two cars, refrigerators and almost everything he had in his garage due to flooding in the southern Plaquemines region. The garage was full of swamp grass and dead fish. Dozens of homes in the neighborhood were still flooded.
“The house is solid. It didn’t even move. But when the water came up, it destroyed everything,” he said.
In the Jefferson region, authorities were still waiting for water to recede enough in Lafitte and other low-altitude communities to set up food delivery trucks, water and supplies to make repairs. The region borders New Orleans and suffered widespread hurricane damage.
Jefferson president Cynthia Lee Shen said the lack of fuel was affecting hospital staff, food banks and other essential workers.
“Today we are a broken community,” he said at a news conference. “It won’t always be that way.”
Emergency officials in the nearby Terrebonne region warned evacuees on Twitter that they were considering returning home that “there are no shelters or electricity, there are very limited resources for food, gasoline and supplies and absolutely no medical service.” .
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards celebrated that some people had electricity, as it is “crucial to show progress” after the storm. But he also acknowledged that much remained to be done. Some 2,600 people were still in shelters, he noted.
The death toll rose to at least six after a coroner confirmed that a 65-year-old woman had drowned indoors in Louisiana and Maryland police reported that a 19-year-old man had been found dead inside. a residential complex flooded by the floodwaters of the remnants of Ida. And the incredible magnitude of the disaster began to become clear: a private company estimated that the total damage caused by Ida could exceed $ 50 billion, making it one of the most costly hurricanes in history.
In neighboring Mississippi, more than 30,000 homes were still without electricity.
Authorities issued a high-temperature warning Thursday in affected areas of southeastern Louisiana. The combination of heat and humidity could cause the thermal sensation to reach 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) at some points, according to meteorologists.