WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2021) New Orleans, which has a population of about 384,000, was left without power because of damage to energy facilities caused by Hurricane Ida, the city's emergency authorities said.
"Due to catastrophic transmission damage, all of Orleans Parish is currently without power," NOLA Ready, the New Orleans emergency preparedness campaign, managed by the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said on Twitter on Sunday.
Entergy Nola specified that the only power in the city is now coming from generators.
Speaking at a Sunday meeting of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), US President Joe Biden warned that Hurricane Ida will be a major life-threatening storm and promised all the necessary federal assistance to the states that will be affected.
On Sunday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell spoke with government and state officials from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to update them on the Biden administration's preparations for Hurricane Ida, promising assistance and help in local emergency response efforts.
Biden visited FEMA's National Response Coordination Center on Sunday. On Friday the president spoke with the Governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, promising full support. Biden approved emergency disaster declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi on Friday and Saturday, respectively, authorizing direct federal help, including power generation.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned on Saturday that Ida could become one of the strongest storms to hit the US state since the 1850s, while New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged people to self-evacuate.
