Power In New Orleans and Environs Will Be Out for Weeks

And in New Orleans, a heat advisory is expected for Today. Not to mention the humidity. Entergy, Cleco officials warn recovery of power grid ‘will be a marathon’

There are lines down from trees everywhere in the region. Many roads remain closed because of that. (Two major insterstate highways are closed: I-10 to Baton Rouge, and I-55 north to the Mississippi State Line.) The roof from a warehouse took out some power lines in a business district. (I can't find that video today.)

But the devastating problem is the loss of a transmission tower, and the submerging of the high-voltage lines in the Mississippi River.

The collapse of a transmission tower in Avondale also was highly problematic, causing the tower’s conductor and wires to submerge into the Mississippi River.

The company warned customers that, “based on historical restoration times,” customers in the direct path of a storm as intense as Hurricane Ida could experience outages for more than three weeks. While 90 percent of customers will be restored sooner, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan for the possibility of experiencing extended power outages.”

That took out the eight high-voltage lines that provide power to Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Terrebonne parishes. About 895,000 Entergy customers are without power. Plus whatever number of Cleco customers are without power. That data was not provided.

[UPDATE: ‘We’re going to get through this together’: About 1.1 million homes, businesses without power after Ida. I leave the math to you. (It is good practice!)]

It also isn't clear to me if those 8 lines were on that tower, or if some, in other locations, tripped, when the high-voltage lines hit the water.

Three weeks without air-conditioning, hot water, refrigeration, internet, etc. In August in New Orleans. I think I would be looking into visiting family somewhere out of the devastation.

From Channel 4 WWL I found an interesting video on the collapse of that transmission tower in New Orleans. An island without power: Why a massive Entergy transmission tower crumbled and all 8 sources of outside power were lost

Hurricane Ida’s intense winds turned one of the main transmission towers into a heap of twisted and rusted metal at the edge of Bridge City.

It was a 400 foot tower that carried power lines across the Mississippi River in a 3800 foot span. It won't be replaced overnight, though it may be possible to get power in from a different route.

I have listened to quite a few newscasts from the New Orleans area, and of course power is the main thing on most people's minds. But the reporters/talking heads seem shocked to discover that the power companies can't just wave a magic wand and fix it all. Politicians are of course in CYA mode and promising to "find out how this happened." Well, a major hurricane hit your area, and you generate (almost) no power inside New Orleans.