(RightIsRight.co) – On Sunday, August 29, Louisiana residents braced for Hurricane Ida’s destructive landfall exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina landed on their shores. While the flood levees held, preventing much damage, Ida still wreaked havoc on many parts of the state, leaving millions without power for weeks to come.
The storm impacted the majority of Louisiana communities. Governor John Bel Edwards (D) told residents he does not know when crews will be able to restore the power grid. The hurricane destroyed a major power tower that carried electricity across the Mississippi River to New Orleans, leaving the enormous city without power for the foreseeable future.
In addition, over 2,000 miles of transmission lines owned by Entergy are out of service, as well as 216 substations. In case that isn’t enough, the hurricane also broke or contaminated many city and town water systems.
To complicate the disaster zone even more, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory on Tuesday, August 31, with temperatures likely to stay high for the coming weeks. Axios shared more about the potentially deadly heatwave:
A heat advisory has been issued for a large part of southeast Louisiana, as well as coastal Mississippi, as residents swelter without power in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Heat index values of up to 105°F are forecast today.https://t.co/GK2Y7TZxOi
— Axios (@axios) August 31, 2021
Governor Edwards asked residents who evacuated to stay away until emergency crews can restore power and other critical infrastructure elements. The issues facing Louisiana likely will have a nationwide impact as oil production has also slowed.
Hopefully, disaster relief teams can work quickly and safely to make the southern communities safe once again for all who call its coast home.
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