Sep 1, 2021 - Science

Power restored for first customers in New Orleans after Hurricane Ida

Erin Doherty

Workers repair power lines damaged by Hurricane Ida on August 31, 2021 in Houma, Louisiana — Workers repair power lines damaged by Hurricane Ida on Aug. 31 in Houma, Louisiana. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Power company Entergy on Wednesday announced that its crews turned on power for some customers in eastern New Orleans after Hurricane Ida tore through Louisiana and left approximately 1 million customers without electricity.

Why it matters: While outages still persist throughout much of the state, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, Wednesday's announcement offers a sign of hope for the region's recovery in the aftermath of the storm, AP notes.

What they're saying: Full power restoration in the state will take time due to "significant damage across the region," Entergy said in a press release.

"Crews will have to methodically bring back additional transmission lines over time to provide other pathways for power to enter the region, helping to maintain stability of the system throughout the complete restoration process," per the release.

Of note: Entergy New Orleans LLC serves Louisiana's Orleans parish, which includes providing electricity for more than 200,000 customers and natural gas to more than 108,000 customers.

The big picture: Preliminary data from NASA Earth suggests that Ida was the fifth-strongest storm "ever to make landfall in the continental U.S."

The Louisiana Department of Health has recorded at least two deaths from the storm.
In Mississippi, two people died and 10 were injured Monday night when a highway collapsed after the storm swept through.

Go deeper: Crews move to rescue people stranded by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana

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Power restored for first customers in New Orleans after Hurricane Ida

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