‘Catastrophic’ Power-Line Damage Leaves New Orleans Without Power

New Orleans officials report the city’s power transmission lines suffered “catastrophic” damage in the wake of Category 4 Hurricane Ida. The storm knocked all eight lines out of service. The imbalance also knocked power-generation facilities offline.

“We are currently working to assess damage and identify a path forward to restore power, to those who can take it, in the area. We have provided back-up generation to the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board,” the City of New Orleans posted on its NOLA READY website.

One of the major transmission lines collapsed with a tower collapsed into the Mississippi River on Sunday, WVUE Fox8 reported.

The damage to the city’s electricity supply is impacting pumping stations, the local Fox affiliate reported. Entergy is reportedly providing backup power for the city’s Sewerage and Water Board. However, a boil water notice is in effect.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released a statement and said:

Right now all we can do is shelter in place and when it is safe at first light they will begin to assess the damage. We do not know how long power will be out. We will have a better idea when damage assessments start in the morning. They have utility crews staged and ready to assess damage. Everyone needs to stay away from downed power lines.

ABC News reports more than 1.1 million people are without electricity in Louisiana and Mississippi. More than one million of those power outages were reported in Louisiana — mostly in New Orleans.

One person is confirmed to have died from the Category 4 Hurricane Ida, now a tropical storm, Breitbart News reported. The death occurred in Ascension Parish just south of Baton Rouge when a tree fell on the victim’s home.