WWL-TV in New Orleans reports at least 671 people had to be rescued from their flooded and damaged homes yesterday. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries say they conducted nearly 200 rescues in LaPlace and Lafitte.

Governor Edwards says National Guardsmen and a 900-percent task force will conduct grid searches of areas with extreme damage from Ida,
cut 2 (30) “…Brooke Thorington”

And the state health department is reporting a second Ida-related death. A man drowned after his vehicle attempted to drive through floodwaters near I-10 and West End Boulevard.

Last hurricane season there were more than 25 fatalities as a result of improper generator use. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says read the generator’s instruction manual and place it outside at least 20 feet from any occupied structure to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning…
cut 4 (110 “…good enough”

Over a million people are without power in southeast Louisiana and getting the power on will take weeks for much of southeast Louisiana. So at this point, there are no businesses open in these areas and many people have evacuated from the region. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is proposing campsites near heavily damaged areas to minimize commute for workers once the power returns…
cut 7 (08) “…area”

Coastal parishes of southeast Louisiana are reporting catastrophic damage from Hurricane Ida. Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s office Captain Brennan Matherne says he rode out the storm in Galliano and experienced Ida’s wrath for several hours. He says the eye of the storm crossed over the town of Lockport…
cut 6 (09) “…southern area”
So far just one confirmed death from Ida. A tree fell on a resident’s home in Ascension Parish killing a man. Governor John Bel Edwards says one of his biggest concerns is how many lives will they lose as a result of Ida…
cut 12 (11) “…cleanup”
Flash flooding is still a threat in southeast Louisiana.

President Joe Biden is pledging a massive federal effort to help southeast Louisiana respond and the President knows the region is in for a long recovery…
cut 8 (12) “….your neighbors”
Governor Edwards’ request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration was approved by President Biden. Edwards will not just rely on federal aid. The governor has activated the entire Louisiana National Guard, which means 49-hundred soldiers responding to this disaster
Cut 9 (10) “…34 helicopters.”
Edwards Tweeted out this morning that the state has deployed more than 16-hundred personnel to conduct search and rescue across southeast Louisiana. Lower Jefferson Parish and LaPlace are some of the hardest-hit areas.

Hurricane Ida slammed into southeast Louisiana with 150 mile per hour winds causing massive damage to the coastal parishes, the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas and the Northshore. According to Power-outage-dot-us, one million customers are without power in Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 5 (11) “…back up”
Governor Edwards says the restoration effort will take some time…
cut 11 (15) “…fail”
Ochsner will evacuate patients from hospitals in Houma and Raceland because of roof damage to those facilities.

There are still strong thunderstorms south of New Orleans, which will impede recovery efforts in the coastal parishes. Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner says Hurricane Ida left the area in total devastation and people need to be rescued from their flooded homes. Water rescues will also be needed in the LaPlace area.

The levee system that protects New Orleans withstood Hurricane Ida’s life-threatening storm surge. U-S Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Matt Roe says after Katrina the federal government spent 14.5 billion dollars on a system designed to reduce the damage from powerful hurricanes
Cut 13 (17) “…second line of defense.”
Roe says inside the ring of levees, they have a system of canals and pumps to remove water.

The Saints and LSU football teams evacuated prior to Hurricane Ida’s landfall. The Black and Gold canceled its final preseason game against Arizona and arrived in Dallas to continue preparations for the regular season opener at home against Green Bay on September 12th.

The Fighting Tigers are in Houston and will spend the rest of the week there preparing for Saturday’s season opener against UCLA. The Bayou Bengals will leave for Los Angeles on Thursday.

The Bruins blew out a hapless Hawaii team on Saturday 44 to 10. UCLA held Hawaii to just 26 yards rushing and intercepted two passes. Special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown and Bruins running back Zach Charbonnnet rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns. It was not a great day for UCLA Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The senior from Las Vegas threw for only 130 yards and one touchdown.

U-L Lafayette will not require fans to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive a negative COVID test prior to attending football games this season. The school is recommending that fans wear a mask inside the stadium and self-monitor for symptoms prior to arriving for the game. Socially distant seating will be available for fans in the general admission areas on the east side of the stadium. The Cajuns home opener is September 11th when U-L Lafayette hosts Nicholls. Up first is a game against 21st ranked Texas.

Here’s the rest of the schedule involving Louisiana teams. Louisiana Tech is at Mississippi State. ULM travels to Kentucky. Nicholls is at Memphis, Northwestern State is at North Texas, Southern is at Troy, Grambling is a Tennessee State McNeese hosts West Florida and Southeastern Louisiana is scheduled to host North Alabama.

Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category Four hurricane near Port Fouchon and now it’s a tropical storm in southwestern Mississippi, but it left a path of destruction across southeast Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it wasn’t until the center of Ida reached Mississippi that it lost its hurricane status…
cut 4 (16) “…water source”

Once the sun comes up, water rescues will take place. There are reports of hundreds of people stranded in lower in Jefferson Parish. In St Charles Parish, families are in their attic in LaPlace to get away from flood waters. There are reports of roofs torn off of Ochsner hospitals in Houma and Raceland and patients there will have to be evacuated to other facilities.

President Joe Biden vows to put the country’s “full might” behind rescue and recovery efforts in southeast Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Biden says they’ve pre-positioned a number of federal assets including 2.5 million meals and three million liters of water. He says they have generators in place and are in contact with power companies…
Cut 6 (10) “…weeks.”
The New Orleans region suffered “catastrophic” damage to the power grid, losing a transmission tower and all eight transmission lines serving New Orleans and the east bank of Jefferson Parish.

Entergy spokesperson David Freese says they beefed up personnel before the storm arrived…
cut 17 (11) “…effort”
Governor Edwards says there will be 30-thousand linemen in the state to restore the power.

Hurricane Ida delivered a massive blow to southeast Louisiana with damaging winds, a powerful storm surge, and several inches of rain. Kevin Gallagher has more…
Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher”

Over 850-thousand people are without power Monday morning. Entergy spokesperson David Freese says it will take weeks to get the power on for some…
cut 16 (10) “…Category Four”

Hurricane Ida is now a tropical storm in southwestern Mississippi but it left a path of destruction through southeast Louisiana. Many people who decided to ride out the storm are now waiting on help. There are several residents reportedly trapped in LaPlace. Hundreds of people are also stranded in lower in Jefferson Parish as a result of the overtopping of levees.

But the levees that failed during Hurricane Katrina and flooded the city of New Orleans, withstood Ida’s power. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Matt Roe says 14-point-5 billion dollars were spent to protect the city from a 100-year level of storm surge, which is a surge that has a one percent chance of happening…
cut 15 (14) “….the area”

Ida has weakened to a tropical storm over southwestern Mississippi after leaving a path of destruction through southeast Louisiana. All of New Orleans is without power after Entergy says they suffered catastrophic damage. Entergy spokesperson David Freese says there will be some real challenges in getting the power back on….
Cut 20 (14) “…back of homes.”
Patients at Ochsner St. Anne Hospital in Raceland and the Leonard Chabert Medical Center in Houma will have to be evacuated to other facilities because of roof damage. Governor Edwards says before the storm came, many at risk patients were evacuated…
cut 11 (13) “…those individuals”

President Joe Biden says the federal government will surge into southeast Louisiana this morning to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

A man in Ascension Parish was killed when a tree fell on his home. This is the first reported death from Hurricane Ida. Sheriff Bobby Webre says the incident occurred along LA 621 in the Duplessis area, which is between Gonzales and Prairieville.