Less than 24 hours after Hurricane Ida exited Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards said there remain an "awful lot of unknowns" as the state surveys the catastrophic damage wrought by its strongest storm in more than a century – with hours of sustained 150 mile per hour winds and gusts of 170 mph or more.
"I can't tell you when the power is going to be restored. I can't tell you when all the debris is going to be cleaned up," the governor said Monday. "I can't tell you when your cell service is going to be restored if its currently out."
Louisiana remains in "life-saving mode."
Beginning 3 a.m. Monday, as soon as the weather allowed, the state dispatched search and rescue teams in high-water vehicles and boats to coastal parishes hardest hit by the storm.
The nearly 5,000 troops that makeup the Louisiana National Guard were activated ahead of the storm, and rescued 191 citizens and 21 pets across Jefferson, St. John the Baptist and Orleans parishes on Monday. They also conducted helicopter hoist and lift operations in the towns of LaPlace and Jean Lafitte.
Another task force of 900 out-of-state volunteers headed by the State Fire Marshall's Office spent the morning responding to 911 calls that came in during the night, when Ida's winds and rain made it too treacherous to dispatch first responders. The search-and-rescue teams will soon go door to door in the areas impacted by high winds and flood waters.
"We’re still in a search and rescue mode. We’re not recovering yet, we’re still responding and trying to save lives,” Edwards said.
Edwards deferred on taking his own aerial survey of the damage Monday, customary after a natural disaster, to free up resources for search and rescue teams. He plans to survey the destruction Tuesday.
About 1.1 million homes and businesses in the southeastern part of Louisiana – roughly half of customers statewide – are without power and will be for the foreseeable future. Edwards said the utility companies spent the day surveying the damages to the power grid. From that survey, engineers will set up a power restoration strategy.
First on the list will be getting power back to the hospitals. Three hospitals needed to be evacuated: Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma, Ochsner St. Anne Hospital in Raceland, Our Lady of the Sea General Hospital in Cut Off. Terrebonne General Hospital in Houma is being evacuated tonight.
Fifty-one hospitals are operating on generator power, according to the Public Service Commission. Edwards said technicians are being sent to those hospitals to ensure that power stays on until electricity can be restored.
Eighteen water systems are out, affecting 312,000 people, and 14 others are requiring 329,000 users to boil water first.
“We really need our hospital more than anything else to come back up,” Edwards said, adding that he expects the utility companies to announce their restoration plans soon.
“We’re just not there yet. People are impatient, I get it. I am too,” Edwards said. “It's just too soon to say when the power is going to be restored.”
Edwards asked those who have evacuated not to return home until parish officials give their OK. "Businesses aren't open. Stores aren't open. Schools aren't open. And quite frankly, we need to put as little demand on our water systems and electrical grids as possible," he said.
As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, there were nearly 2,000 people sheltered at 36 locations across the state. For more info on shelters, text 'LASHELTER' to 898-211 or call 211.
There was one confirmed death overnight after a tree fell on a 60-year-old Ascension Parish man. A second person drowned while driving a car through a flooded low spot on Interstate 10, New Orleans city officials said.
But Edwards said after conversations with various local officials, he expects there to be more deaths reported over the coming days.
"I would be surprised, but obviously very pleasantly surprised, if the death toll doesn’t go up considerably over the coming days," Edwards said.
President Joe Biden late Sunday night approved federal assistance for individuals and businesses. More than 18,000 people have applied for FEMA aid in the wake of Hurricane Ida, Edwards said.
Those in the affected parishes can apply online through DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362 or through the FEMA mobile app.
The 25 parishes include: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington , West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
"If you have been effected by the hurricane and live in one of those parishes, we encourage you to apply," Edwards said.
On the upside, Edwards said the state’s levee system – particularly in the New Orleans metropolitan area – all performed as intended. The preliminary assessment shows that none of the levees were breached, though a few were overtopped, he said.
"It’s very little consolation to someone that levees held up if their home took water," Edwards said. “At the end of the day, this was a catastrophic storm. We are going to work as hard as we can every day to make people’s lives just a little bit better.”