huge path of damage, but the wrecking power is obvious. just look at this video. listen to the winds. flooding is widespread. some areas could get 20 inches of rain. more than a half million homes and businesses are without power. that number is sure to climb, and officials say it could take weeks to fully restore power. the levee system in new orleans was vastly upgraded after katrina and is holding as of now. south of new orleans, the rainfall and storm surge have pushed water over a levee in plaquemines parish. a flash flood emergency is in effect, and residents are urged to seek higher ground. let s begin our coverage with cnn s jason carroll. he s in houma, louisiana, not far from where the storm made landfall. what are you experiencing, jason? reporter: well, pamela, just within the past hour, we ve seen emergency crews for the first time make their way through the parking lot beside me. so that s some indication that perhaps, you know, this storm the eye of the sto
dark. the entirety of the parish went out. there s still isolated places with generators and the turbines are still operating to operate the pumps but the entire parish of orleans went out in terms of power being provided there. now, the first deaths from the hurricane was reported in just the last hour, a person killed by a falling tree. ida made landfall sunday as a powerful category 4 storm, slamming ashore on the 16th anniversary of hurricane katrina s landfall. it has now, as we speak, weakened to a category 2. but the winds, the flash flooding, the storm surges are all still major concerns. there are also worries for the folks in grand isle, a small barrier island which has completely lost contact with local authorities. we ve lost contact with grand isle, so that is the island right on the gulf of mexico that i ve been very, very concerned about. we lost contact with them. we ve not been able to reach them. i don t know what they re going through. and then closer
it s moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? .delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. and welcome, everyone, to cnn newsroom. appreciate your company. i m michael holmes. it is a frightening night along the gulf coast of the united states. we re hours away from daylight and a better view of the destruction that hurricane ida has left behind. the storm made landfall as a powerful category 4 in louisiana sunday. the 16th anniversary of the devastating hurricane katrina. local officials predict ida s damage could be even worse. at least one person has been killed by a falling tree, but of course it is dark and people have no way of finding out what is going on in
surge and torrential rain all slamming louisiana 16 years to the day hurricane katrina made landfall. more than 400,000 customers without power right now. that number expected to keep going up as ida makes its way inland. ida is tied with hurricane laura as the strongest storm on record ever to hit louisiana. the storm s strength no match for the mississippi river, partially reversing its flow. let s begin with jason carroll in houma, louisiana. what can you tell us? reporter: jim, we have shifted position again to an area that s even closer to this brick building, because the conditions have deteriorated to a point where we just need to be more mindful of our safety. that s where i was standing during the last live report we did with you just a few moments ago. you can see another tree as come down over there. looking from that vantage point you get a real sense of just how strong the wind is. i could stand there ten minutes ago. ten minutes later, no longer. if you look r
of flooding at a house in grand isle, louisiana. the extreme conditions continue less than 20 miles west of new orleans. in this video, we will watch as two huge boats crash into each other. this is? st. rose on the mississippi river. new orleans ems crews counter already suspended operations. the governor just warned that help could not make it out under first flight tomorrow. no doubt we re going to see extreme definite administration in grand isle and elsewhere, but we ll likely be sometime after first light tomorrow morning before we can get up and get in the air and get vehicles down there. president biden is visiting fema headquarters last hour and making the last-minute plea for the 14 million people in the path of this dangerous hurricane. this is going to be a devastating hurricane, a life-threatening storm, so please, all you folks in the mississippi and louisiana, and god nose, maybe even furse east, take precautions. listen, take it seriously. we have a