Southeast Louisiana hit by massive power outage as Hurricane Isaac lands
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E-mail Xinhua, August 29, 2012
HOUSTON, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses lost power after Hurricane Isaac landed in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana later Tuesday, local media reported.
And among the homes and businesses being left without power, near half are in Orleans Parish, the reports said.
Utility companies in the southwestern U.S. state on Tuesday morning started bringing in extra crews to help restore power in case strong winds bring down power lines.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu warned residents about the dangers of approaching downed power lines. "These are serious threats, as I have said many times, which can cause fatalities," Landrieu said.
State authorities have mobilized more than 4,100 troops, with 680 of them in Orleans Parish. A further 35,000 troops and almost 100 aircraft are available for mobilization, according to reports on the website of NOLA.com.
The troops are assisting with the setting up of evacuation shelters, including a "mega-shelter" with about 2,500 cots in the inland city of Alexandria. Some 300 soldiers will work as bus drivers in Metairie, supporting the state departments of transportation and education.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Luisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the State National Guard posted 23 liaison teams with local governments, adding that 13 communications teams will deployed in the region, along with 921 security vehicles, 531 high-water vehicles, 40 aircraft and 74 boats.
Last Sunday, the governor declared a state of emergency in the state to deal with the slow-moving Hurricane Isaac.
Hurricane Isaac also affected oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, with nearly all oil operations there having halted as Hurricane Isaac approached the Louisiana coast.
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Tuesday more than 93 percent of Gulf oil production capacity has been shut in. Offshore platform operators evacuated more than 84 percent of their facilities in the Gulf.
According to the bureau, oil production from the Gulf was cut by 1.3 million barrels a day while gas production fell 67 percent.
Refiners, chemical companies, fabricators and other energy-related businesses continued to shut down and evacuate facilities along the Gulf Coast.
For Louisiana, Wednesday will be the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a powerful storm that crippled New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. The hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, and one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. At least 1,836 people died and total property damage was estimated at 81 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem
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