Thousands face weeks without power in Ida's aftermath

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

BY REBECCA SANTANA and JAY REEVES

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana communities beginning the huge task of clearing debris and repairing the damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida are facing the depressing prospect of weeks without electricity in the stifling, late-summer heat.

Ida ravaged the region’s power grid, leaving all of New Orleans and hundreds of thousands of other Louisiana residents in the dark with no clear timeline on when the electricity would come back on. Some areas outside New Orleans also suffered major flooding and structure damage.

“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,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday. “But what I can tell you is we are going to work hard every day to deliver as much assistance as we can.”

The storm was blamed for at least four deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, including two people killed Monday night when seven vehicles plunged into a 20-foot-deep (6-meter-deep) hole near Lucedale, Mississippi, where a highway had collapsed after torrential rains.



A barge damages a bridge that divides Lafitte, La., and Jean Lafitte, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-ida-louisiana-new-orleans-mississippi-f6d6750d736af169ae09fa3142f92a4e

[2naSalit]

1. Which is why Gen. Honore said...

Last edited Tue Aug 31, 2021, 02:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Evacuation is needed. People can't survive that long and trying to bring in food and water with no sanitation is a recipe for further disaster. Not to mention the pandemic. Crowding all those people together is not an option so his recommendation for dispersal during rebuilding the infrastructure, at least, is the most humane thing to do.

He's calling for gas vouchers and motel vouchers so people can stay in small groups elsewhere. The main problem I see with that is that most of them aren't vaccinated and other locations where they might end up may not be so welcoming.

This idea may not be what suits the sensibilities of some but that is the most practical and humane response IMO.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. This chaser video (using a drone) in a newscast shows the extent of the nightmare of the problem

I.e., the big transmission tower that just crumpled and the wires from it that cross the Mississippi that are now laying in the river (which also means until they move those wires, no boats can go through that section either).

[crickets]

4. It's going to take weeks, maybe months to restore power. 😔

[BumRushDaShow]

5. That big power transmission tower will probably take months and months

I know that when Hurricane Laura destroyed the Doppler radar at Lake Charles in August 2020, it took them 5 months to get a new one back up and running - https://www.weather.gov/news/012221-lake-charles-radar





So I can imagine getting that electric tower replaced (and probably needs deep pylons to support it) and then get the transmission lines strung and reconnected. I expect they were up that high because of the shipping traffic on the river.

[Roc2020]

3. video says a lot