Hurricane Ida traps Louisianians; more than 1 million in two states left without power

Rescuers in boats, helicopters and high-water trucks brought hundreds of people trapped by Hurricane Ida’s floodwaters to safety Aug. 30, and utility repair crews rushed in after the furious storm swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the electrical grid in the stifling, late-summer heat. Residents living amid the maze of rivers and bayous along the state’s Gulf Coast retreated desperately to attics and roofs and posted their addresses on social media with instructions for search-and-rescue teams on where to find them. More than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi — including all of New Orleans — were left without power as Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland, pushed through Aug. 29. The damage was so extensive that officials warned it could be weeks before the power grid was repaired. The hurricane blew ashore on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the 2005 storm that breached New Orleans levees, devastated the city and was blamed for 1,800 deaths. (AP) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.