NEW ORLEANS — All of Orleans Parish and almost all of Jefferson Parish are without power after Hurricane Ida knocked down crucial transmission lines that power the area.
WWL-TV's Thanh Truong and photographer Geoff Hackett took to the streets in the Mobile Weather vehicle and took a tour of much of the area to assess the damage.
The drive, recorded and broadcast live on WWLTV.com, and the station's YouTube and Facebook pages.
The tour started in Jefferson Parish on Airline Drive, went through much of Harahan and Elmwood before crossing the Huey P. Long and traversing much of the lower West Bank Expressway.
They went through Manhattan Blvd. in Harvey and were also in parts of Gretna, Algiers before going back across the river to examine neighborhoods in New Orleans Marigny area.
Hurricane Ida roared ashore as a powerful category-4 storm with winds up to 150 miles per hour between Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.
The worst of the damage seems to be in areas of lower Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Charles and St. John. Coastal areas of St. Bernard and Plaquemines also had substantial damage.
The damage in Orleans and Jefferson Parish areas outside of the lower west bank, had more spotty damage that seemed to be limited to wind damage that downed trees, power sources and damaged many rooftops.
There have been sporadic reports of looting, which parish leaders said would not be tolerated.