From USAtoday.com…
Ida was downgraded to a Category 4 tropical storm on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm caused at least one death after slamming into Louisiana’s coast on Sunday and knocked out power to all of New Orleans while inundating coastal Louisiana communities.
Snapped trees, flipped trucks, submerged cars and flooded streets were just some of the scenes as the storm wreaked havoc and temporarily reversed the Mississippi River’s flow near Belle Chase, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
“Tonight, we have confirmed at least one death and sadly, we know there will be others,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a statement late Sunday. “Thousands of our people are without power and there is untold damage to property across the impacted parishes.”
Ida is tied for the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. mainland and struck 16 years to the day after deadly Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Edwards said President Joe Biden declared Ida a disaster, releasing federal funds to assist with rescue and recovery efforts on Monday.
Photos show collapsed buildings, including destruction in the French Quarter, and more in the wake of the ongoing storm’s dangerous winds.
