Millions of Gulf Coast residents who survived Ida’s catastrophic rampage face a new urgent danger: intense heat and power outages

Heat is the No. 1 weather-related cause of fatalities in the US, the National Weather Service said.

More than 2 million people in the landfall area are under the heat advisory, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said.

Many local officials have urged those who evacuated not to come home yet, citing downed power lines, impassable roads and potential hindrances to rescue workers.

Weeks without electricity

The number of people who lost power is likely much higher, as an electricity customer can represent an entire household or business.

Lines of cars waited for hours Monday at the one or two gas stations still open in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, Council Member Richard Lewis said. Many stocked up on fuel for their generators.

More than 25,000 workers from at least 32 states and the District of Columbia have been mobilized to help restore power in Louisiana, The Edison Electric Institute said in a statement Monday.

But with power outages, “nothing is a quick fix,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.

“While the power is dependent on generators, I’m calling all of our people and businesses that have the capacity in the city to be good neighbors,” Cantrell said Monday.

“Share the power you have, open your businesses with the people to recharge their devices.”

Part of a highway washed away, taking cars with it

Heavy rain in Mississippi washed away part of Highway 26, a main artery between Mississippi and Louisiana.

Seven vehicles went into a hole created by the washout, which was about about 50 feet long and 20 feet deep, Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Cal Robertson said.

In Louisiana, state police gave a blunt message to some residents Monday: “It may be difficult to get help to you for quite some time.”

With many roads impassable or blocked by debris, “the full extent of damage is yet to be seen,” Louisiana State Police said.

Some people closer to those in need volunteered to help. Paul Middendorf spent hours Monday rescuing people with his canoe in LaPlace, Louisiana, volunteering with the group Crowdsource Rescue.

“Most of (the rescues) were in the attic,” he said. “The water in the back of that neighborhood was about 10 feet deep or higher.”

Middendorf said the water slowly started to recede. Although it was only knee deep in some parts, it’s still chest deep with a strong current in many areas that are still flooded in LaPlace, he said.

For those who did evacuate, the dangerous conditions may keep them away from their homes for some time as well.

Even as crews work “around the clock to clear the roads,” those wanting to return to Lafourche Parish could be delayed for up to a week, officials said Monday.

“Lafourche Parish roads are currently unpassable and will be for some time,” the Parish said.

At least two deaths in Louisiana have been linked to Ida.

The first happened when a tree fell on a home in Prairieville, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

And in New Orleans, a man drowned after trying to drive through floodwater near I-10 and West End Boulevard, the Louisiana Department of Health said Monday.

‘Hours of agony’

LaPlace residents Don and Karen Dottolo have endured many hurricanes, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

But Ida was more than they anticipated.

“Of course, I expected the water. I can deal with the water,” Don Dottolo said.

But as the water started gushing into their home in the dark Sunday, “we were afraid for a little while because it was coming up the stairs,” Karen Dottolo said.

Her husband described Hurricane Andrew as “scary, but that was 10-minutes scary.” Ida “was hours of agony.”

In St. Tammany Parish, the damage and power outages are rampant, Parish President Mike Cooper said.

“We’ve just been through a horrendous night with winds, rain, gusts, water coming up, rivers rising, power outages,” Cooper said. “It’s incredible.”

Hospitals deal with storm damage and Covid as Tennessee gets ready

Four hospitals in Louisiana were evacuated Monday, the governor said.

Now, in the aftermath of the hurricane, many Gulf Coast hospitals are grappling with how to keep caring for patients amid the damage.

“We really need our hospitals, more than anything else, to come back up, so that people who are in ICU rooms and on ventilators and so forth can continue to receive the life-saving care that they need,” Edwards said.

“That’s important all the time. It’s certainly important, even more so, because of the Covid situation.”

The National Guard, Tennessee Department of Transportation and volunteer agencies were still cleaning up from the devastating flood earlier this month in Humphreys County, which claimed 20 lives.

In preparation for possible flash floods, homeowners in the county sifted through their damaged homes ahead of Ida to grab any remaining valuables that survived the last flood.