New Orleans Goes Dark After Hurricane Ida Inflicts “Catastrophic Transmission Damage”

Summary:

• All of New Orleans is currently without power
• Hurricane Ida made landfall at 12:55 p.m. near Point Fourchon, Louisiana with winds tied for the most intense hurricane on record to strike Louisiana, at 150 mph.
• As of 7pm ET, Ida was a strong Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds up to 125 MPH.
• Max sustained winds of 150 mph, tied with two other hurricanes for record landfall.
• Over half a million residents without power
• Surge could result in 12-16 feet of inundation; so far the surge has reached at least 4 to 7 feet in southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, engulfing roads, homes, businesses and marinas. New Orleans’ flood protection system, bolstered by a $14.5 billion investment post-Katrina, will be tested by Ida’s surge and torrential rain.
• The storm could unload up to two feet of rain in parts of southeast Louisiana, causing severe flash flooding.
• Downed trees and widespread power outages could last weeks
• The core of the storm’s hurricane-force winds could pass through Houma and Baton Rouge and very close to New Orleans, producing structural damage, downed trees and widespread power outages, which could last weeks.

(Update 1946ET): All of New Orleans is without power after Hurricane Ida inflicted “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Energy New Orleans.

JUST IN: Hurricane Ida has left all of New Orleans without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” according to Entergy New Orleans.https://t.co/RdkgVmqDKW

— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) August 30, 2021

According to a c ompany spokesperson, the storm caused a “load imbalance to the company’s transmission and generation” that the company is “making every effort to identify and rectify.

(Update 1900ET): Hurricane Ida has weakened to a strong Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds up to 125 MPH, and is currently located 30 miles SW of New Orleans, moving NW at 10 MPH.

A flash flood warning is in effect for New Orleans, with places like shell Beach has seeing over 8 feet of storm surge. Area in New Orleans such as Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine & Irish Bayou and are mandatory evacuation.

FLOODING in NOLA: Look at this in Venetian Isles in @CityOfNOLA. This is one area in New Orleans under a *mandatory* evacuation. Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine & Irish Bayou; areas outside the levee protection system. Water is almost up to the stop sign 🥺 @wdsu #HurricaneIda pic.twitter.com/RQ8uMwpWRJ

— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsWDSU) August 29, 2021

Power outages in Louisiana surge as Hurricane Ida rotates through the state, according to data from utility Entergy Corp.  As of 6pm local time, some 538,173 customers were affected the utility said on its website. Outages stood at 133,722 half an hour after Ida made first landfall. Outages are currently affecting 31 of state’s 64 parishes, including those that are homes to oil refineries:

• East Baton Rouge Parish, where Exxon’s Baton Rouge refinery sits
• St. Charles Parish, home to Valero’s St. Charles and Shell’s Norco facilities
• St. Bernard Parish: PBF Chalmette and Valero’s Meraux plant
• St. John the Baptist Parish: Marathon Garyville
• Plaquemines Parish: Phillips 66’s Alliance plant

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(Update 1615ET): New Orleans hit with 70mps wind gusts.  With the northwestern core of Ida surging into New Orleans, winds have rapidly increased and rain is pouring down. For the next six hours or so, tropical-storm to hurricane-force winds will lash the city, causing widespread flooding, downed trees and power outages, which are already mounting. With peak wind gusts over 80 mph possible, some structural damage is also probable. New Orleans Lakefront Airport has reported a wind gust as high as 76 mph.

Social media photos and video have shown toppling trees and wires around the region and even part of a roof peeled off in the French Quarter. These dangerous conditions will probably worsen through the early evening and not abate significantly until around midnight.

1:45pm: Remarkable wind damage already taking place on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. pic.twitter.com/xs8387Ngtx

— Markie Martin (@MarkieMartin) August 29, 2021

Meanwhile, to get a sense of just how powerful this storm is, hours before landfall, NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew into Hurricane Ida, capturing the dramatic video shown above. The footage shows the clearing associated with the eye of the storm and the towering thunderstorms surrounding it. The military aircraft reported peak flight-level winds around 168 mph between 8,000 and 10,000 feet as they sampled the storm environment.

Stunning video taken from inside the eye of #Ida this morning by the NESDIS Ocean Winds Research team during a flight on the @NOAA_HurrHunter P3 aircraft @NOAASatellites pic.twitter.com/sjt970Yeiq

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 29, 2021

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