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Four days after Hurricane Ida slammed the southeast, Entergy reports that nearly 750,000 customers are still without power. Analysis from WBRZ in Louisiana found that nearly 80,000 of those left without power live in the greater Baton Rouge area while an additional 50,000 reside in either Ascension Parish or Livingston Parish.
Unfortunately, Entergy is not the only company unable to provide service to many of its customers following Hurricane Ida. DEMCO, an energy company based in Central City, reports that 70,000 of its customers remain without power.
"Right now we have right at 70,000 that are without power and a large bulk of that, of course like we've seen in the past, is Livingston Parish. And then following not too far behind is our numbers of folks that are out in East Baton Rouge Parish," DEMCO spokesman David Latona told WBRZ.
Damage from Hurricane Ida stretches far and wide across not only Louisiana, but also Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Latona projects that the devastating storm may leave thousands without electricity for as long as three weeks.
"Damage assessments in Livingston Parish were nothing short of disastrous," Latona explained.
"Satsuma, the Town of Livingston, and Holden sustained damage that will push the restoration to two [or] three weeks. In many areas the flooding is still preventing that safe progress."
In the meantime, Lousiana Governor John Bel Edwards claims he is putting in place plans to speed up recovery efforts. In a recent press conference, he said he wouldn't be satisfied if it took 30 days to restore power to Entergy customers.
“I’m not satisfied with 30 days, the Entergy people aren’t satisfied with 30 days,” Edwards said, according to Yahoo!
“Nobody who’s out there needing power is satisfied with that. But I am mindful that we just had the strongest hurricane — or at least tied for the strongest — that the state has ever experienced and the infrastructure has been damaged.”
Recovery efforts will continue throughout September as FEMA deploys more than 3,600 personnel and 3.4 million meals. Several states have also distributed emergency personnel to assist with search and rescue missions.
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