Hurricane Ida death toll jumps to 82
More than a week after Hurricane Ida first made landfall in Louisiana, state health officials have announced 11 additional storm-related deaths, raising the official death toll to 82.
The Louisiana Department of Health said Wednesday that the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office confirmed the additional deaths. Two died of carbon monoxide poisoning while the others died of "excessive heat during a power outage," according to the department.
Louisiana has reported a total of 26 storm-related deaths. At least seven nursing home residents died after being moved to a warehouse facility in Tangipahoa Parish, where more than 800 residents from seven nursing facilities were housed as Ida tore through the state. Images of the warehouse show patients in squalid conditions and packed closely together on mattresses.
Another four people died in the Southeast, while 52 others were killed in the Northeast after Ida's remnants brought tornadoes and severe flooding to the area last week.
President Biden traveled to New York and New Jersey on Tuesday to survey the storm damage. The president pointed to the extreme weather as he pushed the need for massive infrastructure spending and addressing the effects of climate change.
The storm made landfall in Louisiana on August 29 — the 16th anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans — as a Category 4 storm and left scores of residents without power, as well as shortages of gas and water. Some residents in the state are still without power nine days later, according to PowerOutage.us. Entergy tweeted Wednesday it has restored power to 70% of customers who lost power in New Orleans during the storm.
Last week, officials estimated many of those still without power would have it restored this week, with the exceptions of Venetian Isles along Highway 11, Irish Bayou and Lake Catherine, which isn't expected to see restoration until September 25.
