The storm and pandemic pose a dual threat. "I hate to say it this way, but we have a lot of people on ventilators today and they don't work without electricity," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Dr. John Heaton, president and chief medical officer of LCMC Health, about the state of the system's hospitals post-Hurricane Ida.
Joe Valiente, director of emergency management in Jefferson Parish, La., says the damage caused by the hurricane is "incredible," with extensive impact on the electrical grids in the area.
Residents and crews are beginning to survey the damage after Ida pummeled Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane. Experts say safety precautions are crucial in the aftermath.
Ida has weakened to a tropical storm as it moves up Louisiana and into Mississippi. It caused great havoc and destruction, and killed at least one person on its path through southeastern Louisiana.
New Orleans residents who lived through Hurricane Katrina's devastation are now confronting another hurricane of epic scale. Some people are riding out the storm because they can't afford to leave.