Hurricane Ida struck the Louisiana coastline and wreaked havoc, leaving nearly 2 million people without electricity. Officially, one person died, but the governor of the state believes that there will be more victims. Read today in USA.ONE :
The devastating effects of Hurricane Ida
De-energized homes, water interruptions, devastated neighborhoods and collapsed highway.
Hurricane Ida passed Louisiana 
Wind gusts reached 240 km/h on Sunday, August 29, according to the US National Hurricane Watch Center, which gave the hurricane the 4th category out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. By the morning of August 30, he had weakened to the 1st category. The maximum wind speed was recorded at around 120 km/h.
At first, it was reported about a million people who lost their electricity, but on the morning of Monday, August 30, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in his television interview that a million is only de-energized meters, and there can be all 2 million people in homes without electricity.
Pumps do not work without electricity, so people also faced interruptions in drinking water. As for the victims of Hurricane Ida, at the moment it is known only about a man who died in the vicinity of the capital of the state of Baton Rouge — a tree fell on his house. At the same time, according to the governor, the number of victims may increase as soon as rescuers reach the most severely affected areas and remove the rubble.
John Bel Edwards also said that the entire State National Guard, including 34 helicopters and airplanes, and 200 off-road vehicles are involved in the storm response. Hurricane Ida tested New Orleans' flood protection system, which was improved after Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,800 people in 2005.
Local authorities assured that the expensive system paid off: the city was not flooded as it was 16 years ago. At the same time, New Orleans plunged into darkness, and the famous French Quarter was covered with tree branches and debris. It is impossible to go outside: rain and gusts of wind up to 100 km/h knock down rare passers-by. Most residents do not leave their homes on the advice of the authorities. They are used to the fact that hurricanes have become a part of their lives.
Millions of dollars have been spent on new dams, and so far they are handling the load. However, New Orleans is warned of the threat of flash floods. More than 29 thousand people were left without electricity in the neighboring state of Mississippi and Alabama. It can take weeks to restore the power supply.
In addition, on Tuesday, August 31, there was a report of the death of 2 and injury of 10 people due to the collapse of the highway in Mississippi. The cause was heavy rains caused by Hurricane Ida. According to the road patrol service, three of the wounded are in serious condition. The collapse affected a section of Highway 26 in George County, 53 miles from Biloxi. Media reported that 7 cars fell into a 50-foot ditch created by a collapsed highway.
Also, a strong wind blew off part of the roof from a hospital in the city of Cut Off in Louisiana, near the Gulf of Mexico. Despite serious damage, no patients were injured. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, they have nowhere to evacuate as all hospitals are overwhelmed. In addition, because of Hurricane Ida, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico stopped. Power outages and floods prevent energy companies from assessing damage at oil production facilities, refineries and ports.
As a reminder, Tropical Storm Ida formed last week in the Caribbean, but turned into a hurricane as advancing west of Cuba into the southern Gulf of Mexico. Ida covered the Louisiana coast on the 16th anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. It is rated as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to sweep over the Gulf of Mexico.
The US National Weather Service encourages New Orleans to stay indoors or in windowless rooms and not leave them.
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