now it is a very dangerous situation. even though the rain and wind have eased up a bit. the big concern right now is reaching those people who are trapped by the and hoping walls and the levies continue to hold. ., , , hoping walls and the levies continue to hold. .,, , ., , to hold. those levies have been strengthened to hold. those levies have been strengthened since to hold. those levies have been strengthened since hurricane i to hold. those levies have been i strengthened since hurricane katrina 16 years ago which was devastating and there have been fears that this one would be more powerful. doesn t look like they are holding? so one would be more powerful. doesn t look like they are holding? look like they are holding? so far, the are. look like they are holding? so far, they are. there look like they are holding? so far, they are. there are look like they are holding? so far, they are. there are billions - look like they are holding? so far, they are. there are billio
and those levies have been strengthened since hurricane katrina 16 years ago, which was devastating. there have been fears hurricane ida would be more powerful. does it look like they are holding? so far they are. there was billions of dollars spent over the last 16 years strengthening, reinforcing those levies. it was found after katrina that the failure of those levies are what led to such a tragic and enormous loss of life during that storm, so the governor said prior to the storm that he was confident despite the fact ida was even stronger than katrina, he was confidence the levies and the flood walls would hold. so far that has been the case but of course the storm is really far from over. the true test will be the next several hours. how long a period, it is obviously hours but then even though once it has passed, it s going to be a while when the danger still remains. absolutely.
the system was very complicated. the west closure alone was 1.1 billion. like i said, the entire system of greater new orleans was 14.7. with the authority on the west bank managers about $3.5 billion worth of infrastructure. so we it is a lot to manage. 80 miles of levees and flood walls, the hurricane protection levees, the mississippi river, so a full-time job. we start preparing for hurricane season on the last day of hurricane season, start preparing for the next one. we do that every year. my team performed flawlessly. the levees have done their job albeit they are pushed to their limit because this is a record-setting storm in every aspect imaginable. but we have a great support network, partners at the federal level, with the corps of engineers, the state level with governor edwards, and everybody down has been nothing but
very seriously. they are sending 2000 emergency workers to i very seriously. they are sending i 2000 emergency workers to assist. for now though, residents are on their own facing the storm. a little earlier, cbs correspondent michael george was in new orleans and he gave us this update. here in new orleans, people have had a very brutal day yesterday and it s a very brutal morning. while hurricane ida has weakened, the danger is certainly very real. people dealing with a citywide power outage, the entire city is without power with no timeline as to when it will be restored. there is also rising flood waters. we ve even heard reports that some people are trapped in their homes, even in their attics, as the waters continue to rise. at the same time, emergency responders can t reach many of those people who are in need of a rescue. in fact, some people who have called for emergency help have been getting a message saying there are technical difficulties on the line, so right now it s a v
in a hurricane, it s like a fog of war situation. we may not know exactly what happens in realtime. you, of course, were on the air during katrina and for the hurricanes since. do you feel new orleans is better prepared than it ever has been for this size of a hurricane? from an infrastructure standpoint, there s no doubt about that, that the levees are taller and more sturdy and they ve been armored and built now to be resilient and with withstand over toppling, like they did in katrina, 80% of the city being flooded and the worst disaster in u.s. history at the time. the billions spent in flood walls and gates and pumps and armoring the levees, clearly the city is better prepared. also technologically, all the cell phone towers have natural gas generators so they won t run