By AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Sep. 2, 2021 5:44 AM EDT
Hurricane Ida is anything but in the rearview mirror for the millions affected by the monster storm.
As the long road to recovery begins in earnest this week, the full extent of the hurricane's devastation continued coming to light on Wednesday, but signs that recovery was underway emerged, too: Power was restored to some in eastern New Orleans after being knocked out citywide on Sunday.
As is the case with any significant tropical system, the catastrophe didn't end at landfall. Similar to how Ida took its time in weakening from a hurricane to a tropical storm – 16 hours after making landfall – realizing the breadth of its impacts hasn't been quick and easy either. Throughout the Southeast, Ida's ripple effects have been felt on both short-term and long-term plans.
As the storm moved from Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama to Tennessee, more tragedy came with it. As of Wednesday afternoon, Ida has been blamed for at least eight deaths in the region, but state officials fear that number will end up much higher when the dust settles and the floodwaters recede.
"Knowing that so many people stayed behind in places like Grand Isle and Lafitte, where floodwaters have devastated those areas, we expect there will be more people found that have passed," Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Tuesday on NBC's TODAY show. "Too many people always ride these storms out and take their lives into their hands."
Another two fatalities were added to Ida's tally on Wednesday when a pair of electrical workers in Alabama were killed. The deaths were confirmed on Wednesday morning to NBC News by James Banner, senior vice president of Pike Electric, who told the news outlet that the two men were killed on Tuesday morning while working to repair power grid damage in Jefferson County. A 65-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man were also found on Wednesday who both perished due to flooding, The Associated Press reported.
Late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, torrential rainfall from Ida caused major flooding in the New York City area, which killed eight additional people, according to the New York Times. Seven people died in the City, with one additional death in nearby Passaic, New Jersey.
According to President Joe Biden, some 25,000 electrical workers from around the country were sent to Louisiana to help restore power. Biden is set to travel to Louisiana on Friday to survey the damage.
And beyond those eight fatalities, a storm that spent one day punishing the state could keep Louisiana residents away from their home state for more than a month. That group could include the New Orleans Saints, the state's beloved NFL team, which fled to Dallas ahead of the storm.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, center, stands on the field as his team stretches as they prepare for an NFL football workout in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Displaced by Hurricane Ida, the Saints went back to work Monday about 500 miles away in the home of another NFL team. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
Head Coach Sean Payton said on Tuesday that the team may not be able to play or practice at their home stadium, the Superdome, for up to a month due to the aftermath of Ida. On Wednesday, the team announced that its first home game of the 2021 season would be relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, at TIAA Bank Field, home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The game is still scheduled to be played on Sept. 12, as the Jaguars will be playing an away game to start the season.
“So I think we’re looking at the first quarter of the season, the first four weeks, knowing we can always adjust if need be," Payton said, according to USA Today. "Certainly, we know for at least the upcoming couple weeks. We’re not looking past that, and really that’s not a challenge logistically for these places.”
Traveling into or out of New Orleans by plane was still impossible for commercial air passengers on Wednesday. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport announced Wednesday that all flights into and out of the airport had been canceled for a fourth straight day. In a statement, the airport warned that more cancellations are likely. "We may see very limited flights tomorrow, and hope for more normal operations later in the week," airport operators said.
Ambulances pass by a downed power pole after Hurricane Ida moved through Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in LaPlace, La. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Hundreds of thousands of others remained in the dark. As of Thursday morning, more than 910,000 customers were still without power in Louisiana, a predicament that could linger for weeks.
Entergy, a New Orleans-based power supplier and the state's largest electric utility company, and state officials are facing backlash from the public on what is expected to be a lengthier period of power outages than what was experienced following Hurricane Katrina.
“Parts of Baton Rouge are going back online already. However, customers, especially the further South and/or East you go, should expect to be without power for 7 to 10 days, with those nearer to the coast and New Orleans realistically looking at weeks,” Craig Greene, public service commissioner of Louisiana’s District 2, said in a statement.
Exacerbating the extended period of power outages is the hot weather that has followed Ida. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures topped out above 100 on Tuesday and are forecast to be above 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday and just below triple digits on Friday. In response, city officials have opened cooling centers for residents to visit.
According to NOLA Ready, there will be eight cooling centers open this week around the city from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with air conditioning, water and charging stations available to city residents. Pets are welcome to the centers as well.
In addition, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced on Tuesday night that an executive order would be mandating a citywide curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. “for all citizens other than emergency and relief works.”
But on Wednesday, Entergy did share one glimmer of hope.
In a press release titled "First Light Comes to the Greater New Orleans Area," the company said that crews were able to restore power to some customers in eastern New Orleans, "with generation supplied by the New Orleans Power Station."
"This is the first step in bringing power back to the metro region, after Hurricane Ida left devastating destruction in its path," the company added. "While initial service can be provided to some customers, the full restoration will still take time given the significant damage across the region."
Farther north, that significant damage also meant heartache for music lovers in Tennessee. Organizers of the Bonnaroo music festival decided on Tuesday to cancel the massively popular four-day event, citing Ida's heavy rainfall, which flooded the campgrounds where the festival was set to be held.
Organizers of the much-loved music festival, which takes place at a campground south of Nashville, Tennessee, said the area is far too saturated by heavy rain from Ida to park vehicles or set up equipment.
The event was going to be hosted on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, a small city located in Middle Tennessee. But after Ida made its swampy trek through the state, organizers had no choice but to pull the plug. This marks the second year in a row the event had to be canceled, following last year's decision in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to CNN, 80,000 people were set to attend the event, many of whom planned to camp at festival grounds. As video from staff and volunteers depicted on social media, much of those grounds are now completely flooded.
"We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo," reads the festival website. "While this weekend's weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that ... we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely."
Pop Star Lizzo, who was set to be the festival's first-ever female headlining performer, urged people in the path of the storm to stay safe.
"Honored to be the first female headliner @bonanaroo," she said on Instagram. "Take care of yourselves everyone who is in the path of the storm. Safety first."
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