ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. — On a tour of the most devastated areas affected by Hurricane Ida, Governor John Bel Edwards made a stop in St. John the Baptist Parish Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on the state's response to relief efforts.
Here are the main takeaways from Edward's update.
St. John Parish hit hard
- St. John Parish was one of the hardest hit areas as approximately 80% of the rescues in Louisiana occurred in St. John on Monday, Edwards said.
- Most of the National Guard is mobilized in St. John.
- All communication in the area was down for 30 hours, making recovery efforts difficult.
Stay where you are
- Those who evacuated are urged not to return to southeast Louisiana until the Office of Emergency Preparedness says so.
- Edwards stressed that many businesses are closed, hospitals are slammed and there's no estimated timeline for when water and electricity will be back in homes.
The most dangerous times
- There are currently two confirmed deaths across the state due to the storms and Edwards expects that number to rise.
- Edwards said historically they've learned most injuries and deaths occur after the storms due to people's responses such as mishandling generators, driving through deep waters, heat exhaustion, etc.
Help from FEMA
- Those who stayed behind and have damages to their homes can register with FEMA to apply for assistance.
- People can register by going to disasterassisstance.gov, calling 1-800-621-3362, or by downloading the FEMA app.
- For those who do not have phone or internet services, FEMA teams will be walking around neighborhoods to register residents in-person.
Curfew set in St. John Parish
- The curfew in St. John Parish was set from dusk to dawn.
- 911 connections in the area are very scares making it hard for people to reach emergency assistance.
- Residents should be aware of contractors scammers pretending to assess damages for money.
Power restoration prioritized
- Approximately 20,000 Entergy linemen are out in the state trying to restore power, Edwards said.
- Power will not be restored across the state at the same time but instead entities such as hospitals will be prioritized.