‘Catastrophic transmission damage’: All of New Orleans without power after Ida

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Entergy says all of Orleans Parish is currently without power due to “catastrophic transmission damage.”

As Ida barreled through the Crescent City Sunday evening, more than 750,000 customers in Louisiana were without power. PowerOutage.us reported 176,000 customers in the dark in Orleans Parish.

At 8 p.m. central time, Jefferson Parish had more than 195,000 customers without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. In Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Bernard, and Terrebonne Parishes, nearly every customer in the parish was without power.

Ida intensified so swiftly overnight that New Orleans officials said there was no time to organize a mandatory evacuation of its 390,000 residents. Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents Sunday to stay indoors. Those who stayed were warned to prepare for long power outages amid sweltering heat.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said 5,000 National Guard troops were being deployed in 14 Louisiana parishes for search and rescue efforts. And 10,000 linemen were on standby to respond to electrical outages.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)