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Updated September 5th, 2021 at 22:57 IST

Hurricane Ida causes major power failure in Louisiana; more than 7 lakh people affected

Over 630,000 people in the state were still lacking power supply on Sunday morning even one week after Hurricane Ida touched down

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Hurricane Ida
Credit: AP | Image:self
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The Entergy Corporation Louisiana stated that as Hurricane Ida impacted severely in some regions of Louisiana, so, there is a huge possibility that those areas might remain without electricity for over three weeks. As per PowerOutage.us, over 6,30,000 people in the state are still lacking power supply on Sunday morning even one week after Hurricane Ida touched down on the Gulf Coast.  

Over 7 Lakh affected by power failure in Louisiana

Entergy Corp. Louisiana, which serves over 1 million customers with electricity, estimates that the huge majority of its customers will have the power problem fixed by Wednesday. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards made the announcement on Saturday, stating that one of the most pressing issues faced by Southeast Louisiana currently is the lack of electricity. He further said that there isn't a consistent pace of regeneration of electricity, and that has been the case always. He has expressed his satisfaction as some people are getting electricity and reassured that the rest will also get power back in a while.  

During the mid-Saturday, the total number of customers without electricity was nearly 718,559, which included houses and businesses. Edwards said at a press briefing in Livingston Parish indicating the number of customers that a lot more people are still left but the number came down from a peak of 1.1 million consumers without electricity directly following Hurricane Ida's devastation in Louisiana. 

According to Edwards, the power infrastructure requires strengthening, however, there are restrictions. He further said that even if they will end up doing it, this will necessitate a significant investment which will compensate for itself over time. 

Initiation began to restore the power supply

Entergy Louisiana further stated that its 24,000 storm team employees are working as safely and swiftly as possible to restore the power supply in the state. The company said in a statement on its website that with the combination of the 24,308 distributing poles which were damaged or destroyed, 29,084 spans of electricity wires broken, and nearly 5,742 defective transformers, the workers were able to discover 212 transmission buildings which were destructed by Hurricane Ida. It further states that all these require total rebuilding. 

On Saturday, the electricity failure has become so severe that New Orleans started transferring powerless residents to powered camps in northern Louisiana and Texas. The new shuttle program uses charter buses to transport visitors from the local convention centre. 

Stating the situation, Edwards added that the administration is doing all they can to provide relief as soon as possible, he even urged those who are affected by Ida to remain patient. After the disastrous Ida struck the state, twelve people died in Louisiana, out of which, four of them died due to carbon monoxide poisoning, said Edwards, while urging residents to exercise caution when using generators for power supply. 

(Image Credit: AP)

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Published September 5th, 2021 at 22:57 IST

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