Hurricane Ida knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities on a deadly path through the Gulf Coast that was still unfolding and promised more destruction.
APTOPIX_Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_12999 Traffic diverts around downed power lines Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Metairie, La. A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by floodwaters and pleading to be rescued, while making a shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland has now weakened into a tropical storm as it pushes inland over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
AP Photo/Steve Helber
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_99353 Traffic diverts around downed power lines Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Metairie, La. A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by floodwaters and pleading to be rescued, while making a shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland has now weakened into a tropical storm as it pushes inland over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
AP Photo/Steve Helber
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_47943 New Orleans Firefighters assess damages as they look through debris after a building collapsed from the effects of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_64903 New Orleans Firefighters assess damages as they look through debris after a building collapsed from the effects of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Storm_Atlantic_90150 Power lines and utility poles are ripped a[art in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Magnolia, Miss., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP)
Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP
Tropical_Storm_Atlantic_49726 A man inspects his RV in rising floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, as he drives through a campground in Magnolia, Miss., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Matt Williamson/Enterprise-Journal via AP)
Matt Williamson/Enterprise-Journal via AP
Tropical_Storm_Atlantic_63804 A Jackson, Miss., resident uses a towel for a head covering as she leaves a convenience store after buying coffee, Monday morning, Aug. 30, 2021. Mississippi residents are dealing with the aftermath of what was Hurricane Ida, dealing with non-stop rains and strong winds. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Tropical_Storm_Atlantic_37500 A man walks through flossed waters at a campground in Magnolia, Miss., in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP)
Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP
Tropical_Weather-Atlantic_24352 A massive oak, toppled by Hurricane Ida, stretches across a New Orleans street, stretching utility lines and resting against the fronts of two houses on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
AP Photo/Kevin McGill
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_92876 New Orleans Firefighters assess damages as they look through debris after a building collapsed from the effects of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Storm_Atlantic_26694 A Jackson, Miss., resident uses a towel for a head covering as she leaves a convenience store after buying coffee, Monday morning, Aug. 30, 2021. Mississippi residents are dealing with the aftermath of what was Hurricane Ida, dealing with non-stop rains and strong winds. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Tropical_Weather_06463 Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Jean Lafitte, La. The weather died down shortly before dawn. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_93004 Destruction is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Houma, La. The weather died down shortly before dawn. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_93734 A barge settles on a bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Lafitte, La. The weather died down shortly before dawn. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_22757 The city is seen from the air in aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans. The power outage in New Orleans heightened the city's vulnerability to flooding and left hundreds of thousands of people without air conditioning and refrigeration in sweltering summer heat.(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_34204 Destruction is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Houma, La. The weather died down shortly before dawn. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_04666 A collapsed historical building is seen on S. Rampart St. in New Orleans, La., early Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
Hurricane Ida became a tropical storm as its top winds slowed over Mississippi on Monday, while across southeast Louisiana residents waited for daylight to be rescued from floodwaters and see how much damage was caused by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. mainland. All of New Orleans lost power right around sunset Sunday, leading to an uneasy night of pouring rain and howling winds. (Max Becherer/The Advocate via AP)
Max Becherer/The Advocate via AP
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_16940 New Orleans Police detective Alexander Reiter, looks over debris from a building that collapsed during Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Hurricane Ida knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities on a deadly path through the Gulf Coast that is still unfolding and promises more destruction. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
APTOPIX_Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_10779 Police look through debris after a building collapsed from the effects of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. Hurricane Ida knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities on a deadly path through the Gulf Coast that is still unfolding and promises more destruction. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
APTOPIX_Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_59498
Tropical_Weather_11817 Alexis Hayes and her husband, Kristopher, get a ride out of a flooded neighborhood after Hurricane Ida moved through Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in LaPlace, La. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
AP Photo/Steve Helber
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_55721 Rene Hebert walks through the family's destroyed offices as cleans up in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Houma, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_89602 Jeremy Hodges climbs down the side of his family's destroyed storage unit in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Houma, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_55998 Customers stand in line to enter a convenience store that opened without electricity after the effects the effects of Hurricane Ida knocked out power in the area, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in Nhew Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_22613 Lenny Richard was sleeping when the wall fell in as his home was destroyed by Hurricane Ida in Houma, La., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP)
Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_87703 Damage is seen at the Chabert Medical Center after Hurricane Ida in Houma, La., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP)
Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP
APTOPIX_Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_73272 Greg Nazarko, manager of the Bourbon Bandstand bar on Bourbon Street, leans against a pole outside the club where he rode out Hurricane Ida that knocked out power in New Orleans, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_17073 Downtown buildings relying on generator power are seen as the entire city of New Orleans is without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_33576 Greg Nazarko, manager of the Bourbon Bandstand bar on Bourbon Street, stands outside the club, where he rode out the storm, after Hurricane Ida that knocked out power in New Orleans, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_55773 A man walks down Bourbon Street after the city lost power in the aftermath Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_77843 A woman walks down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans after leaving the city without power, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_02251 Downtown buildings are lit by backup generators after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the city, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_78857 Downtown buildings are lit by backup generators after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the city, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_57202 A blown down sign lies on the street along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the city, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. Some businesses, hotels and homes are running on back up generators. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_15614 A police officer patrols past woman walking along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the city, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tropical_Weather_Atlantic_14460 A police officer patrols past woman walking along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the city, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Terry Shelvin stocks up on water and food as Hurricane Ida approaches Louisiana, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Lafayette, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rescuers in boats, helicopters and high-water trucks brought hundreds of people trapped by Hurricane Ida’s floodwaters to safety Monday and utility repair crews rushed in, after the furious storm swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the electrical grid in the stifling, late-summer heat.
Residents living amid the maze of rivers and bayous along the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to their attics or roofs and posted their addresses on social media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams on where to find them.
More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi — including all of New Orleans — were left without power as Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland, pushed through on Sunday.
The damage was so extensive that officials warned it could be weeks before the power grid was repaired.
President Joe Biden met virtually on Monday with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves along with 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.
“We are closely coordinating with State and local officials every step of the way,” Biden said.
The administration said more than 3,600 FEMA employees are deployed to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. FEMA staged more than 3.4 million meals, millions of liters of water, more than 35,700 tarps, and roughly 200 generators in the region in advance of the storm.
As the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression Monday afternoon and continued to make its way inland with torrential rain, it was blamed for at least two deaths — a motorist who drowned in New Orleans and a person hit by a falling tree outside Baton Rouge.
But with many roads impassable and cellphone service out in places, the full extent of its fury was still coming into focus. Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for Gov. John Bel Edwards, said that given the level of destruction, “We’re going to have many more confirmed fatalities.”
The governor’s office said damage to the power grid appeared “catastrophic” — dispiriting news for those without refrigeration or air conditioning during the dog days of summer, with highs forecast in the mid-80s to near 90 by midweek.
“There are certainly more questions than answers. I can’t tell you when the power is going to be restored. I can’t tell you when all the debris is going to be cleaned up and repairs made,” Edwards told a news conference. “But what I can tell you is we are going to work hard every day to deliver as much assistance as we can.”
Local, state and federal rescuers combined to save at least 671 people by Monday afternoon, Edwards said.
In hard-hit LaPlace, squeezed between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, rescuers saved people from flooded homes in a near-constant operation.
Debbie Greco, her husband and son rode out the storm in LaPlace with Greco’s parents. Water reached a foot up the first-floor windows, then filled the first floor to 4 feet (1.2 meters) deep once the back door was opened. They retreated to the second floor, but then screaming winds collapsed the roof as waves broke in the front yard.
They were finally rescued by boat after waiting in the only dry spot, five people sharing the landing on the stairs.
“When I rebuild this I’m out of here. I’m done with Louisiana,” said Greco’s father, 85-year-old Fred Carmouche, a lifelong resident.
Elsewhere in LaPlace, people pulled pieces of chimneys, gutters and other parts of their homes to the curb and residents of a mobile home park waded through floodwaters.
The hurricane blew ashore on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the 2005 storm that breached New Orleans’ levees, devastated the city and was blamed for 1,800 deaths.
This time, New Orleans appeared to escape the catastrophic flooding city officials had feared.
Stephanie Blaise returned to her home with her father in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after evacuating. The neighborhood suffered devastating flooding in Katrina, but only lost some shingles in Ida. However, with no idea when electricity would be restored, Blaise didn’t plan to stay long.
“We don’t need to go through that. I’m going to have to convince him to leave. We got to go somewhere. Can’t stay in this heat,” she said.
The city urged people who evacuated to stay away for at least a couple of days because of the lack of power and fuel. “There’s not a lot of reasons to come back,” said Collin Arnold, chief of emergency preparedness.
Also, 18 water systems serving about 255,000 customers in Louisiana were knocked out of service, the state Health Department said.
Four Louisiana hospitals were damaged and 39 medical facilities were operating on generator power, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said. Officials said they were evacuating scores of patients to other cities.
The governor’s office said over 2,200 evacuees were staying in 41 shelters, a number expected to rise as people were rescued or escaped flooded homes. The governor’s spokesperson said the state will work to move people to hotels as soon as possible so they can keep their distance from one another.
“This is a COVID nightmare,” Stephens said, adding: “We do anticipate that we could see some COVID spikes related to this.”
Preliminary measurements showed Slidell, Louisiana, got at least 15.7 inches of rain, while New Orleans received nearly 14 inches, forecasters said. Other parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama and Florida got 5 to 11 inches.
The Louisiana National Guard said it activated 4,900 Guard personnel and lined up 195 high-water vehicles, 73 rescue boats and 34 helicopters. Local and state agencies were adding hundreds more. Edwards said he decided not to tour hurricane damage by air Monday to add one more aircraft to the effort.
On Grand Isle, the 40 people who stayed on the barrier island through the brunt of the hurricane gave aircraft checking on them Monday a thumbs-up, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto said.
The road to the island remained impassable and rescuers would try to reach them as soon as they are able, the sheriff said.
The hurricane twisted and collapsed a giant tower that carries key transmission lines over the Mississippi River to the New Orleans area, causing widespread outages, Entergy and local authorities said. The power company said more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines were out of service, along with 216 substations. The tower had survived Katrina.
The storm also flattened utility poles, toppled trees onto power lines and caused transformers to explode.
The governor said 25,000 utility workers were in the state to help restore electricity, with more on the way. “We’re going to push Entergy to restore power just as soon as they can,” Edwards said.
AT&T said its wireless network in Louisiana was reduced to 60% of normal but was coming back. Many people resorted to using walkie-talkies. The governor’s office staff had no working phones. The company sent a mobile tower to the state’s emergency preparedness office so it could get some service.
Charchar Chaffold left her home near LaPlace for Alabama after a tree fell on it Sunday. She frantically tried to get in touch via text message with five family members who stayed behind.
She last heard from them Sunday night. They were in the attic after water rushed into their home. “They told me they thought they was going to die. I told them they are not and called for help,” she said.
Ida’s 150 mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland. Its winds were down to 40 mph (64 kph) around midday Monday.
In Mississippi’s southwestern corner, entire neighborhoods were surrounded by floodwaters, and many roads were impassable. Several tornadoes were reported, including a suspected twister in Saraland, Alabama, that ripped part of the roof off a motel and flipped an 18-wheeler, injuring the driver, according to the National Weather Service.
Ida was expected to pick up speed Monday night before dumping rain on the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys Tuesday, the Appalachian mountain region Wednesday and the nation’s capital on Thursday.
Forecasters said flash flooding and mudslides were possible along Ida’s path before it blows out to sea over New England on Friday.
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Reeves reported from LaPlace, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Janet McConnaughey and Kevin McGill in New Orleans; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
