Ida cleanup continues

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Residents pile debris outside flood-damaged homes in Passaic, N.J., on Monday. Associated Press/Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

The storm-related death toll rose to at least 50 in the Northeast, making Ida the deadliest U.S. hurricane in four years. Flooding trapped people in cars and basements in several northeastern states.

How are recovery efforts going? Flooded areas kept firefighters from getting to multiple fires that broke out across the region, likely caused by gas leaks from the severe flooding, according to authorities. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit storm-damaged areas in New Jersey and New York on Tuesday. In Louisiana, where Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29, crews had restored power to nearly 70 percent of the New Orleans area. But outside of large cities, restoring electricity will last almost all of September, utility executives said on Monday.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report on post-Ida recovery efforts in Louisiana.

Rachel Lynn Aldrich

Rachel is a former assistant editor for WORLD Digital. She is a Patrick Henry College and World Journalism Institute graduate. Rachel resides with her husband in Wheaton, Ill.