Tropical storm “Ida”: Power outage in New Orleans

Exactly 16 years after the devastating hurricane “Katrina”, the region around New Orleans is facing another catastrophe: Hurricane “Ida” hit land with devastating force. The power supply in the metropolis collapsed.

As a result of the dangerously strong Hurricane “Ida”, the power went out in the entire metropolitan area of ​​New Orleans. The city operations center explained this on Twitter, citing the electricity supplier. “The only electricity in town comes from generators,” it said. Almost 400,000 people live in New Orleans. According to the supplier, 600,000 households in the region near the coast were already without electricity due to storm damage. According to the website Poweroutage.us, there were already nearly 750,000 households in the entire state of Louisiana.

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 241 kilometers 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” to level 2. The cyclone now brings maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers per hour and even stronger gusts, said the NHC in Miami. The strong hurricane moved very slowly over land, which is why the places in its path were exposed to extreme winds for a long time.

Extent of destruction not yet foreseeable

Photos and videos showed houses that were under water, streets that became rivers, covered houses and numerous uprooted trees in the coastal areas. Low-lying areas southwest of the city of New Orleans, for which evacuation orders had previously been issued, were particularly hard hit. The first reports of severe damage also came from the small town of Houma further north with around 30,000 inhabitants, which was directly in the path of the storm. Floods and damage to buildings were also seen in New Orleans.

Governor John Bel Edwards warned that the true extent of the destruction in the state will not become apparent until Monday, once the storm has withdrawn in a northeastern direction and rescue and recovery operations can begin. There was initially no information on possible injuries or fatalities.

The situation is particularly precarious for many hospitals in the region. 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.”

The president also addressed the Gulf Coast residents directly. “To the people of the Gulf Coast, I want you to know that we are praying for the best outcome and preparing for the worst. As soon as the storm has passed, we will use all the might of this country to rescue and rebuild”, so Biden. 2.5 million meals, 3 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 8 ambulance planes and 7 helicopters have been provided, said the disaster control agency Fema. The US military is also preparing for an aid mission.

National Guard in action

Louisiana’s governor John Bel Edwards had asked everyone to go to a safe place before “Ida” arrived. He also mobilized the National Guard and declared a state of emergency in order to be able to fall back on additional aid. Long traffic jams formed on the motorways, and residents and holidaymakers could no longer refuel at some petrol stations.

The hurricane caused oil production in the Gulf of Mexico to collapse. Energy companies reduced their emissions by 96 percent or 1.74 million barrels of oil, as the responsible authority BSEE announced on Sunday. Gas production was reduced by 94 percent. All eleven oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated. In addition, 288 platforms were cleared, which corresponds to more than half of the facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. In the entire region, many people stocked up on supplies and drinking water or filled sandbags. Hospitals, which are already heavily utilized with the fourth corona wave, are also preparing.

Memories of Hurricane 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.

“Ida” hit western Cuba on Friday as a level one of five cyclones. According to reports from the state media, the hurricane had caused power outages there and trees fell. Thousands of people were brought to safety and public transport in the capital Havana was suspended. “Ida” is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the season.