As U.S. President Joe Biden starts his tour of hurricane-affected Louisiana on September 3, 2021, the presidential motorcade passes an area that was hit by Hurricane Ida.
A new storm front, which threatened restoration efforts, moved into the area more than a week after Hurricane Ida struck.
PowerOutage.us reports that there were 495,384 Louisiana customers without power and 4,656 Mississippians without power at Monday afternoon.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flooding watch for the southeast Louisiana area on Monday morning.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected. The heaviest storms could produce three to four inches of rain in a short time.
The warning stated that soil conditions were saturated or near saturated, and heavy rain could quickly cause flash flooding.
Utility group Entergy stated Monday morning in a statement that "storms could hinder restoration in areas where conditions are unsafe for our restoration team's work."
Entergy reported that 54%, or 513,000 customers, had had their power restored since Hurricane Ida. This is in addition to the total of 948,000 people who lost power due to the storm.
Around 902,000 Entergy customers who were affected were still in Louisiana. The company reported that it had restored power to almost half of the affected customers, or 467,000, as of Monday. This includes 66% of those who were experiencing blackouts here in New Orleans. As of Monday morning, 69,000 Entergy customers in New Orleans were still without power.
Gizmodo reported that Entergy has been protesting policies that would increase renewable energy use and invest in energy storage systems and solar in Louisiana. These systems can generate electricity from renewable sources and also make the grid more stable. They can also help restore power after natural disasters.
Entergy stated that, despite flash flood warnings being issued in the area, restoration times would not exceed September 29 for those communities most affected, like Terrebonne Parish and St. Charles Parish. This is a full month since Hurricane Ida struck.
