Hell Of Hurricane

Death toll set to soar as Ida wrecks homes and leaves 1m without power

- Christopher Bucktin

A Hurricane powerful enough to reverse the Mississippi’s flow left more than one million Americans without power as rescuers desperately hunted for bodies in the debris.

The raging 150mph storm struck New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,800 dead.

On Sunday Hurricane Ida swept in, killing a man aged 60 when a tree fell on his home in Louisiana capital Baton Rouge. Officials fear the death toll will soar as searches continue.

Energy supplier Entergy said the only electricity in New Orleans was coming from generators, citing “catastrophic transmission damage” for the blackout.

That meant homeowners faced another threat – carbon monoxide poisoning from using their own generators in poorly ventilated indoor areas. And the heavy rain could yet cause flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he “fully expects the death count will go up considerably”.

More than 900 search and rescue workers from 16 states, plus the Louisiana National Guard, were assisting the effort, which began around 3am yesterday.