Coast Guard Opens Lower Mississippi River to all Vessel Traffic
On Sept. 4, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that Coast Guard captain-of-the-port, New Orleans, Capt. Will Watson has opened the Lower Mississippi River to all vessel traffic in New Orleans and key ports throughout Southeast Louisiana Friday following Hurricane Ida.
After the successful removal of several power lines obstructing the waterway due to a downed transmission tower near mile marker 106.5 and a survey of the ship channel in key areas of concern, the waterway has been deemed open for all marine traffic, noted the news release.
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U.S. Offshore Oil Output Lags as Louisiana Refiners Restart After Ida
Damages to oil production facilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday kept output largely halted a week after Hurricane Ida made landfall, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).
Energy companies have been coping with damaged platforms and onshore power outages and logistical issues, slowing efforts to restart production. Some 88% of crude oil output and 83% of natural gas production remained suspended. Climate change is fueling deadly and disastrous weather across the globe, including stronger and more damaging hurricanes.
About 1.6 million barrels of crude oil remained offline, with only about 100,000 barrels added since Saturday. Another 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output also was shut in, the regulator said.
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Lt. Gov. Nungesser Says Emergency Response to Plaquemines Parish Too Slow Amid Storm Devastation
Ironton is a small community that has seen its share of struggles, most recently with the devastating storm surge from Hurricane Ida.
The town is barely recognizable — most of the homes were destroyed. The rest are heavily damaged, and knee deep, and higher in floodwater.
That’s better than it was early last week when the only road that passes through town was at least six feet underwater, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said.
"We tried to go in by airboat to tour the damage, but the marsh grass and debris was too much," he said.
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Cow Rescued From Tree Above Floodwater in St. Bernard Parish
An unusual water rescue in St. Bernard Parish after Hurricane Ida saw crews using a chainsaw to cut branches away from a cow caught in a tree, stranded above floodwaters.
The cow appeared unharmed in a video posted by parish officials. It was reportedly rescued Tuesday near the Florissant Highway, which experienced flooding and storm surge from Hurricane Ida.
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Good Samaritans Rescue 60 Cows From Hurricane Ida Floodwaters
It might be “herd” to believe, but some Louisiana cowboys recently undertook a very different kind of cattle drive after Hurricane Ida left grazing lands flooded—and they’ve been using airboats to do get the job done.
“We got about 300 head of cattle… out here that we couldn’t get out from the back pastures in time before the storm came in, being that it was a quickly developing storm,” lead volunteer Derek Billiot told WGNO News.
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Power Back at One Louisiana Sugar Refinery
One of the two sugar refineries in the New Orleans area that were shuttered because of Hurricane Ida planned to reopen on a limited basis over the weekend with power restored at midweek.
The ASR Group (Domino) Chalmette refinery at Arabi, La., had outside power restored late Sept. 1.
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Hurricane Ida’s Impact on Louisiana Agriculture Hit Timber and Sugarcane
Power outages alongside mangled trees, ruined crops and damaged grain elevators were early indications of Hurricane Ida's impact on Louisiana's agriculture industry.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry did a flyover Thursday across parishes hard hit by the storm. Commissioner Mike Strain saw some stranded livestock and flooding in some orchards in Plaquemines Parish, but it's too early to estimate the total cost of damage.
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LFBF Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Ida’s 150 mph winds make it equal in strength and intensity as 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the 1856 storm that hit the community of Last Island. All three are tied as the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in Louisiana. Ida’s winds toppled electrical transmission lines that provide power to grain export facilities and small family farms alike. Ida’s storm surge sent cattle to higher ground along levees with hardly any forage and even less fresh water. Homes are damaged or destroyed. Our farmers and ranchers will feel the economic and psychological effects of this storm through this harvest season and beyond.
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More Grain Terminals Found Damaged by Ida, Exports May Stall for Weeks
Grain shippers on the U.S. Gulf Coast reported more damage from Hurricane Ida to their terminals on Wednesday as Cargill Inc confirmed damage to a second facility, while power outages across southern Louisiana kept all others shuttered.
Global grains trader Cargill Inc said its Westwego, Louisiana, terminal was damaged by Hurricane Ida, days after confirming more extensive damage at its only other Louisiana grain export facility located in Reserve.
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Hurricane Ida Shows the Fragility of Agricultural Supply Chains
Hurricane Ida barrelled into the Louisiana coast on Aug. 29, bringing 150 mph (230 kph) wind gusts, torrential rain, and widespread power outages to New Orleans and the surrounding region. It also brought all shipping traffic through the mouth of the Mississippi River to a grinding halt, snarling supply chains at the start of a crucial period for US grain exports.
The US Coast Guard closed the Mississippi to barge traffic ahead of the storm on Aug. 28, and the New Orleans International Airport shut down passenger and cargo traffic on Aug. 29. The Port of New Orleans closed its container shipping terminals on Aug. 30 and stopped all “breakbulk operations,” which refers to moving cargo from large ocean freighters to smaller barges for transport up the Mississippi River.
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LSU AgCenter Assessing Damage from Hurricane Ida
LSU AgCenter agents are beginning the arduous task of damage assessment and recovery from Hurricane Ida.
Given the geographic area affected, the biggest economic impact is likely to be to agricultural infrastructure and timber, said Kurt Guidry, LSU AgCenter region director and agricultural economist. But sugarcane, livestock, soybeans, fruit and vegetable crops, and the horticulture industry also experienced losses.
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How the Biden Administration is Supporting Hurricane Ida Response Efforts in the Gulf Coast
The President is closely monitoring recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida. He has directed that the Federal government take prompt and specific actions to respond to the needs of Americans who are suffering from the storm’s devastating impacts. President Biden has spoken twice with the Governors of Louisiana and Mississippi and with mayors and parish leaders from areas most affected by Hurricane Ida. He made clear there will be a robust Federal response in support of state, tribal, and local officials, and that the Federal government will closely coordinate with local and private sector partners. On Tuesday, the President specifically authorized a series of actions to assist with urgent power restoration efforts in the Gulf Coast. He spoke with national and regional electricity sector leaders to make clear that the Administration will provide whatever support and resources are needed for ongoing power restoration efforts. The FEMA Administrator has already traveled to Louisiana and Mississippi to survey storm damage and discuss recovery efforts with state and local partners.
Before Hurricane Ida made landfall, the President approved Emergency Declarations for the States of Louisiana and Mississippi. These declarations authorized FEMA to provide assistance for emergency measures to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety in Louisiana and Mississippi and fund emergency protective measures. The Federal government also proactively pre-positioned resources across the region before Hurricane Ida made landfall, including search and rescue equipment, meals, water, generators, equipment, and personnel to assist states with impacts from the storm.
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Louisiana Sugar Plants Still Closed After Ida; Cane Fields Being Assessed
Two large sugar refineries in Louisiana, which were shut down before Hurricane Ida hit the state, were still not operational on Tuesday as the companies assessed damages and waited for power lines to be restored.
There were also reports of damage to sugarcane crops in the state, the second largest producer in the country after Florida, but it will take some days for agronomists and farmers to evaluate the situation, an expert said.
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Ida Spares Franklin, Pummels Southern Louisiana
Hurricane Ida spared Franklin Parish much of its fury but pummeled south Louisiana Sunday night and Monday.
Locally, few lost power while only a few fallen limbs littered yards. Many rain gauges across the parish recorded less than an inch of rain.
Franklin Parish farmers worked through the weekend harvesting corn and soybeans in preparation of torrential rain and damaging winds that never came.
Carol L. Pinnell-Alison, LSU AgCenter extension agent, acknowledged local farmers dodged a bullet.
“I think we are in pretty good shape,” Pinnell-Alison said. “We had minimum impact with corn and soybeans from Hurricane Ida.”
Pinnell-Alison said the storm’s eastern trajectory buffered Franklin Parish from its worst impacts.
“We might have had a little wind damage to the corn but not much,” she said.
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Local Farmers See Significant Damage From Ida
Several Louisiana farms were flattened by Hurricane Ida this week.
“This has been a very difficult year for farmers, with the freeze and the unprecedented rainfall, and now a Category 4 hurricane,” says BREADA executive director Darlene Adams Rowland.
BREADA, which oversees the Red Stick Farmers Market and other local programs, has been trying to get in contact with farmers across the state. It wasn’t able to reach many until Tuesday.
“Our farmers to the east and south have suffered significant damage, with some still yet to be seen,” Rowland says.
And the worst could be yet to come.
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