Homeland Security says only electricity in city is from generators after Ida made landfall exactly 16 years after the devastating Hurricane Katrina
- Report: New Orleans loses power as category 4 storm hits
Hello, Rebecca Ratcliffe here taking over from my colleague, Martin Farrer.
The energy company Entergy has confirmed that power has been cut off across the entire city, according to an update posted on Twitter by the New Orleans’ Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The message describes “catastrophic transmission damage”.
@EntergyNOLA has confirmed that New Orleans has no power. The only power in the city is coming from generators. #Ida pic.twitter.com/9clSeFcz3T
The storm surge and winds from Hurricane Ida was so strong it reversed the flow of the mighty Mississippi River. The same phenomenon happened during Hurricane Katrina but is “extremely uncommon”, USGS hydrologist Scott Perrien told CNN.
He said the river level rose about seven feet due to the surge, shifting the flow from 2 feet per second to about half a foot per second in the opposite direction.
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