Dark. The entirety of the parish went out. Theres 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 Katrinas 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. Weve lost contact with grand isle, so that is the Island Right on the Gulf Of Mexico that ive been very, very concerned about. We lost contact with them. Weve not been able to reach them. I dont know what theyre going through. And then closer up here, still outside
Just look at this video here on your screen. Flooding is wide spread. And some areas could see up to 20 inches of rain. More than 700,000 homes and businesses are now without power. And that number is sure to climb. Officials say it could take weeks to fully restore power. Now within the next hour or two, New Orleans will be seeing its highest winds and heaviest rain. The Levee System was vastly upgraded after katrina and holding as of now. South of The City, the Rainfall And Storm surge have pushed water over our levee in Plaquemines Parish. A Flash Flood Emergency is in effect. I spoke to a critical Care Doctor in Baton Rouge bracing for the worst. We would be able to be the most significant event of our lifetime. We currently have a full hospital, but were the regional medical center and so we are essentially acting that role. We have over 700 providers in the hospital. 50 of those are physicians. 400 are nurses. 300 are nonclinical. Were split into two staffs. We will do one shift
Ed asner will be greatly missed. thank you so much for joining me this evening. it was a busy sunday night. i m pamela brown. we are getting a new update on hurricane ida from the national hurricane center and michael holmes continues our special coverage now. have a good week. xxxx welcome to cnn newsroom. i m michael holmes. we are following breaking news in louisiana where the damage from hurricane ida, one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state, is quickly becoming clearer. right now, all of new orleans parish is without power, in the dark. statewide almost a million customers with no electricity. there is now a flash flood emergency for new orleans. a major city now totally in the