More deaths attributed to Ida

The Louisiana Department of Health verified 11 additional storm-related deaths occurred between Aug. 30 and Sept. 6. Their causes were unknown until the Orleans Parish coroner confirmed nine victims, ages 64 to 79, died from excessive heat. Two more people, ages 24 and 44, succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. With power out, many residents used generators to provide air conditioning. The generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning if not vented properly.

How are restoration efforts going? Within New Orleans city limits, the power grid is almost fully restored and curfews have been lifted. Hundreds of thousands of residents in nearby parishes still have no power or running water. Entergy, the state’s largest power company, said Ida demolished more than 30,000 utility polls, far more than previous hurricanes. Students cannot return to classrooms, and parish schools have offered no reopening estimates until the power comes back on. Louisiana’s secretary of state announced the state is delaying fall elections by a month due to damage from Ida.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report on how Louisiana residents are coping.