New Orleans was hard hit by the hurricane. Here are some updates on what's happening.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a press conference this morning, here's some info from that event: Residents who have evacuated should not come home, because the 911 system is still down and it's not safe, officials say.
Serious damage was done to the physical system that makes up the system, and AT&T is working on that, officials said. And, the city communications district is working on a text 911 system, but that won't be ready until later Monday.
Entergy New Orleans chief executive Deanna Rodriguez said that eight transmission lines that bring power to the city were damaged; she said there was "catastrophic damage" west of the city, and a lot of damage to distribution lines. That's affecting not just New Orleans, but also several other parishes and cities.
As of Monday morning, about 4,500 people were on the ground in the city to assess damage, she said. Those teams started out at daybreak Monday.
"That will give us a better idea what we're dealing with," she said. "It's premature to say when power can be restored. I'm sorry, but I can't give that answer yet. By the end of day, we will know more. By tomorrow we will know more."
She urged residents who have evacuated to sign up for texts from the company at Entergy.com so they can get a text when a restoration estimate is determined.
More than 21,000 workers are out today, and more are on the way, Rodriguez said. Their first focus will be on transmission line damage assessments, but where they can do restoration they will. All transmission, generation and distribution systems are being evaluated today, she said.
Here's the press conference. If you don't see it, click here.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell says there are downed trees and powerlines blocking roads all over the city, and since emergency personnel are out assessing damage and helping people who need it, she's asking everyone to stay indoors and off the roads.
More than 177,000 people were without power.
"With extensive damage, we have a lot of rebuilding ahead of us. We’ll be better prepared to give restoration estimates once assessments are done. Pictured are staged crews yesterday, ready to begin assessments once it's safe to do so," a post from Entergy New Orleans stated this morning.
Here's the picture, of some of the crews staged ready to respond in New Orleans:
Company officials told our media partners at The Advocate/Times Picayune this morning that it will likely be days before Entergy even knows how much damage the hurricane did, and a lot longer to restore power.
Four parishes in southeast Louisiana - and parts of two more - had their main source of power cut when eight Entergy transmission lines failed in Hurricane Ida's intense winds, including a tower that fell into the Mississippi River, the newspapers report.
New Orleans is in the dark, along with Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes as well as parts of St. Charles and Terrebonne parishes, the papers report.
To read that whole story, click here.
The newspapers' photographers have begun a gallery of their images capturing damage in the city; to see it click here.
