Almost 800 rescued in St. John the Baptist Parish after Hurricane Ida
At least three people have died as a result of the storm.
Ida is barreling through Louisiana after making landfall in the state as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon.
It was one of the strongest hurricanes on record -- by both wind speed and pressure -- to roar ashore in Louisiana.
Ida, now a tropical storm, is hitting on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina unleashed a series of events, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people and leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.
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Almost 800 rescued in St. John the Baptist Parish
Officials with St. John the Baptist Parish held a press conference Monday night, saying “almost 800 people” have been rescued after extreme flooding due to Hurricane Ida.
“This is one of the worst natural disasters I've ever seen in St. John,” Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said.
Remarkably, Hotard said there have been no reported fatalities in the parish from the storm.
“All of the missions were successful,” Hotard said. “Every call that came in for someone to be rescued out of their home, they have been rescued out of their home.”
The hard-hit town of Laplace is in St John the Baptist Parish.
-ABC News' Matt Foster
Tulane cancels in-person learning until October, sets up Houston hub for students
Tulane University announced Monday night that it would cancel all in-person classes until Oct. 6.
The campus is closed and all classes will be canceled until Sept. 13, the university tweeted. The semester began last week.
The school is establishing a hub in Houston to provide food and lodging at Tulane’s expense for students until they can get flights home.
"Beginning tomorrow at 10AM, we will evacuate all remaining students (undergraduate & graduate; in-residence & off-campus) to Houston via bus," the school tweeted.
Emergency funds will also be available for students, according to Tulane.
3rd storm-related death confirmed
Deano Bonano, a councilman for District 2 in Jefferson Parish, told ABC News that there has been one confirmed fatality in his parish from Hurricane Ida.
Details about the death and the identity of the victim weren't immediately available.
-ABC News' Darren Reynolds
20,000 workers out assessing damage, restoring power
An anticipated storm team of more than 20,000 and growing has begun assessing Ida's damage and restoring power, according to Louisiana's utility companies.
Damage assessment could take several days, since many areas are currently inaccessible either by roadways, officials at Entergy Louisiana said Monday afternoon.
While 90% of customers will be restored sooner, customers in the hardest-hit areas should plan for the possibility of experiencing extended power outages, according to Entergy.
"This will be a marathon, not a sprint," Deanna Rodriguez, Entergy New Orleans' president and CEO said in a statement.
Power could be out for weeks in hardest-hit areas: Energy company
Power could be out for weeks in the areas hit hardest by Ida, Entergy said Monday.
"Where weather permitted, our crews were out at first light today assessing damage where it was safe to do so," the energy company said in a statement. "This will help us get a better idea of what we’re dealing with. It would be premature to speculate at this time when power will be restored given the extent of the damage."
The ability to reach some areas is hindered by road closures and flooding, the company said.
"In harder to reach areas, we use advanced technology, such as infrared cameras, drones and satellite imagery to assess damage by foot, vehicles, airboats, highwater vehicles and helicopters. Even so, lack of access in areas like waterways and marshes could delay our damage assessment," Entergy said.
-ABC News' Josh Hoyos
