New Orleans/Washington DC: Hurricane Ida which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, has so far claimed four lives – two in Louisiana and two in Mississippi. One man drowned while trying to drive through floodwaters in New Orleans, the Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday. In Ascension Parish in Prairieville, Louisiana, the state health department said a 60-year-old man died when a tree fell on his home.
The hurricane moved across the state of Mississippi and into the Tennessee Valley today. As it continues to move to the Northeast, heavy rain is expected to continue, there are warnings of warned that life-threatening flash flooding remains a threat in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, D.C., and elsewhere. In the Gulf Coast, search and rescue efforts are underway. Twelve Urban Search and Rescue teams are currently operational in Louisiana to support state and local efforts. The Coast Guard has been doing overhead flights, including in Grand Isle, to search for anyone in need of assistance. So far, Urban Search and Rescue teams have assisted over hundreds of survivors, and their work continues.
As of today morning, 48 shelters were open in affected areas throughout the Gulf Coast; The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had staged more than 4.4 million meals, 3.2 million liters of water, and more than 124,000 tarps in the region; and additional ambulance crews have been transported to Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Department of Transportation also issued a regional emergency declaration for the states — including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas — providing flexibility for transporting fuel, as well as essential items like food, water, and power restoration equipment to support emergency relief efforts.
The US President, Joe Biden, today stated that he and his Homeland Security team were closely monitoring the impacts of Hurricane Ida as damage assessments continued.
Terming Hurricane Ida as an extremely large and powerful hurricane that did catastrophic damage in a number of areas along the Gulf Coast, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last night (IST) in Washington DC that while Ida has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, it continues to inflict damage.
“We’re also in regular contact — which is a huge priority for people in the region — with private electricity companies to ensure they have the resources they need as they work to restore power in Louisiana and Mississippi, where more than 1.1 million customers remain without electricity. We’ve seen some people in Mississippi get electricity back, and we’re hopeful we’ll see continued improvements. There are more than 25,000 linemen from 32 states and D.C. in the region racing to restore power,” Psaki said.
Ida is the second most intense hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, only behind Hurricane Katrina, and tied for the strongest landfall in the state by maximum winds with Hurricane Laura in 2020 and the 1856 Last Island hurricane.
The FEMA Administrator and the American Red Cross Director were in Louisiana today to meet with the governor and survey the damage from Hurricane Ida. Administrator Criswell will travel to Mississippi tomorrow to meet with the state officials.
The Department of Health and Human Services is deploying a 250-bed federal medical shelter to Alexandria, Louisiana. The U.S. Coast Guard has 27 rotary or fixed-wing aircraft, and the Department of Defense has 60 high-water vehicles and 14 rotary wing aircraft prepositioned to assist with rescue efforts.
Shelters are open in affected areas throughout the Gulf Coast across the impacted states, and they are implementing steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The National Guard has also activated more than 5,200 personnel in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama to support response efforts. Also the Air — Army Corps of Engineers has activated planning and response teams for debris, temporary roofing, and temporary housing.
“Again, we are working closely with state and local officials. Even though the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, damaging wind gusts continue to be a threat, which likely result in additional downed trees and power outages as the storm moves to — moves Northeast. And Ida will continue to produce heavy rainfall, life-threatening flash and urban flooding, and tornadoes remain a threat,”Psaki said.
Earlier, Biden had convened a virtual meeting last night with the Governors of Louisiana and Mississippi and mayors from cities and parishes most impacted by Hurricane Ida to receive an update on the storm’s impacts, and to discuss how the Federal Government can provide assistance. Joining the President at the meeting were Senior Advisor and Director of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Julie Rodriguez, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. The President had made clear State and local officials have the full support of the Federal Government, and named Richmond as his Administration’s direct line for Gulf Coast State and local officials throughout the recovery.
President Biden highlighted how this will be a whole-of-government and whole-of-community response and recovery effort. He talked about how the Administration is supporting efforts to get electricity and transmission lines back up and running, and how there are more than 25,000 line and tree crews from at least 30 States en route to help local utilities begin restoration work.
The President announced that he had asked the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to immediately make available satellite imagery, and he asked the Federal Aviation Administration to work with Louisiana and Mississippi to authorize the use of surveillance drones to help State and local governments assess the damage from Hurricane Ida. He also spoke about Federal efforts to assist cellular customers as work continues to restore cellular service in impacted areas.
The US President had also approved last night, an emergency major declaration for Louisiana, which allows individuals in the impacted areas to apply for assistance. He also approved a pre-disaster emergency declaration for Mississippi to authorize emergency preparation and protective measures and direct federal assistance.
– global bihari bureau
