A collapsed highway, millions of houses without light and victims. Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana

A collapsed highway, millions of houses without light and victims. Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana

As Hurricane Ida hit the coast of Louisiana, it wreaked havoc, leaving about 2 million people without power. Officially, one person died, but the state governor believes that there will be more victims. Read today in USA.ONE magazine:

The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ida

De-energized homes, water outages, devastated neighborhoods, and a collapsed highway.

Hurricane Ida passed through LouisianaA collapsed highway, millions of houses without light and victims. Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana

On Sunday, August 29, wind gusts reached 240 km/h, due to which the hurricane was assigned a Category 4 out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the US National Hurricane Center. By the morning of August 30, it 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 electricity, but on the morning of Monday, August 30, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards in his television interview said that a million are only de-energized meters, and there can be all 2 million people in houses without electricity.

Without electricity, pumps do not work, 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 collapsed on his house. At the same time, according to the governor, the number of victims may increase as soon as the rescuers get to the most severely affected areas and sort out the rubble.

A collapsed highway, millions of houses without light and victims. Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana

John Bel Edwards also said that the entire National Guard of the state, including 34 helicopters and aircraft, and 200 all-terrain vehicles, is participating in the aftermath of the hurricane. Hurricane Ida tested New Orleans' flood defenses, which were improved after Hurricane Katrina 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, on the advice of the authorities, do not leave their homes. They are used to the fact that hurricanes have become part of their lives.

Millions of dollars have been spent on new dams and so far they are coping with the load. However, New Orleans is on the alert for flash flooding. More than 29,000 people were also left without electricity in Mississippi and Alabama, neighboring Louisiana. It could take weeks to restore power.

A collapsed highway, millions of houses without light and victims. Hurricane Ida hits Louisiana

In addition, on Tuesday, August 31, a message came in about the death of 2 and the injury of 10 people due to the collapse of a highway in Mississippi. The reason 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 reports say that 7 vehicles fell into a 50-foot ditch caused by the collapse of the highway.

Also, strong winds tore off part of the roof from a hospital in Cut Off, Louisiana, near the Gulf of Mexico. Despite severe damage, no patients were hurt. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, there is nowhere to evacuate them as all hospitals are overwhelmed. In addition, because of the hurricane «Ida» stopped oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Power outages and flooding 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 Sea, but turned into a hurricane as it moving west from Cuba to the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Ida hit the Louisiana coast on the 16th anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. It is rated as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to blow over the Gulf of Mexico.

The US National Weather Service urges New Orleans residents to stay indoors or in windowless rooms and not leave.

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