Hurricane Ida News
Barely dusting off from Hurricane Ida, St. Tammany now braces for rising rivers
St. Tammany residents began dealing with the messy aftermath of Hurricane Ida Monday morning, from downed trees to flooding along Lake Pontchartrain. But for some parts of the parish, that was just Chapter 1. Chapter 2 — the rising rivers — was expected to come later Monday and into Tuesday.
Parish officials began warning residents of anticipated river floods on Sunday, and the picture didn’t improve after Hurricane Ida passed.
The National Weather Service River Forecasting Center was anticipating a crest on the Tchefuncte River near Covington of 30.51 feet at 7 am. Tuesday. That’s just under the record of 32 feet in 1988 and in line with floods in 2016, when the Tchefuncte reached 31.2 feet in March and 30.2 feet several months later……..
Ida’s sweltering aftermath: No power, no water, no gasoline
Hundreds of thousands of Louisianans sweltered in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida on Tuesday with no electricity, no tap water, precious little gasoline and no clear idea of when things might improve.
Long lines that wrapped around the block formed at the few gas stations that had fuel and generator power to pump it. People cleared rotting food out of refrigerators. Neighbors shared generators and borrowed buckets of swimming pool water to bathe or to flush toilets.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us and no one is under the illusion that this is going to be a short process,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said as the cleanup and rebuilding began across the soggy region in the oppressive late-summer heat……..
Slidell Police hold moment of prayer before Hurricane Ida landfall
Slidell Police held a moment of prayer before hurricane Ida comes ashore in southeast Louisiana.
According to the PD, Chaplain Jeff Nave held prayer with some of our officers, who are awaiting the landfall of Hurricane Ida
“May God keep everyone safe,” they said.
Slidell PD officers are strategically posting up at various safe locations around the city. These officers are prepping their beds for later this evening……..
Flooded during Hurricane Ida, Slidell homeowners now begin task of gutting and reparing
Kathy Pardue returned Friday from Memphis, where she and her 12-year-old granddaughter had evacuated, to find their rental home on Slidell’s Camellia Drive had flooded when Hurricane Ida pushed nearby Bayou Bonfouca over its banks.
“I was in shock, I was really sad,” Pardue said Monday as she stood on her porch, surveying the pile of soaked furniture and other belongings that she and a friend, April Spring, had spent hours hauling out. Her granddaughter was having a harder time with the loss of her things, she said.
Pardue, who had been taking care of a sick relative out of state during Katrina, said she wasn’t prepared for the scale of destruction and had just grabbed important paperwork and a few clothes before they fled……..
Louisiana National Guard continues Hurricane Ida recovery efforts
The Louisiana National Guard is making progress in their mission to help the state recover from Hurricane Ida.
A total of 4,900 LANG Guardsmen were activated in preparation for Ida’s landfall. 195 high-water vehicles, 73 rescue boats and 34 helicopters were staged to support local and state agencies in search and rescue missions, commodities distribution and route clearance.
The LANG’s 225th Engineer Brigade supported local and state officials following Ida in efforts including: flood diversion, vehicle and boat search and rescue, logistics, waterway hazard recovery, route clearance and debris cleanup……..
LOCAL NEWS Insurance costs could soar for some Louisiana residents under FEMA’s ‘Risk Rating 2.0’
NEW ORLEANS — Laura, Delta, Zeta, Ida. Southern Louisiana has seen its fair share of storms over the past two years. As people continue to clean up, there’s now another concern.
A new system for setting flood insurance rates is getting some pushback from lawmakers. They argue FEMA’s new plan, Risk Rating 2.0, will hike up premiums for hundreds-of-thousands of people……..
After Hurricane Ida, debris pickup in St. Tammany Parish to push into October
Those debris piles that began collecting across St. Tammany shortly after Hurricane Ida ploughed through the heavily wooded parish won’t completely disappear until the end of October instead of the end of September as parish officials originally hoped.
FEMA had given local governments a 30-day deadline to get 100% reimbursement for debris removal costs, but the agency has extended that by two weeks, and the new deadline is Oct. 14.
John Welborn, chief administrative officer for the city of Slidell, says that the city expects to have the pickup completed by the new deadline……..