New Orleans plans for resource centers in event of widespread power outages
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Residents wait in line to access a charging station at the Treme Recreation Community Center after Hurricane Ida in 2021. Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
New Orleans leaders are working to host "emergency resource centers" around the city in the event of a mass power outage this hurricane season.
Why it matters: The city's power grid has proven vulnerable to long-term outages, and leaders hope to get the jump on keeping residents connected with neighborhood facilities should that happen again.
The big picture: Storms are intensifying more rapidly, which means it's becoming harder to evacuate the city ahead of them.
- And now, NOAA is forecasting an "extraordinary" hurricane season with its busiest-ever outlook at this point in the year.
What he said: "As a city, our biggest challenge right now is going to be power loss" based on what we saw after Hurricane Ida, said New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Collin Arnold during a press conference earlier this week.
- But flooding and wind are also potential issues, Arnold acknowledged.
Zoom in: There are "up to 16" facilities pegged as emergency resource centers around the city, Arnold said Tuesday.
- Those primarily include NORDC recreation centers, but also "a few libraries" and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
- The centers would offer access to air conditioning, cell phone charging, water, food when possible and possibly other resources, depending on needs and availability, according to NOHSEP deputy director Richard Chatman.
- Through a partnership with Entergy, Arnold said, a "critical facilities list" that includes 68 area assisted living facilities would also receive power restoration prioritization in any large-scale power outage.
Flashback: City officials set up eight of the emergency resource centers in the days after Hurricane Ida, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune, but doing so without advance prep meant it took a little longer to accomplish.