| By Gordon Russell | Staff writer
Sixteen years to the day after Katrina devastated so much of south Louisiana, Hurricane Ida swept ashore Sunday with expected yet still surprising ferocity. It passed a few dozen miles west of New Orleans, and its eyewall brought heavy winds and driving rains that pummeled the eight-parish area. While the metro areas levees appear to have held, devastating impacts from the storm’s hellacious winds were still being catalogued Sunday night. The storm was among the strongest to ever hit Louisiana’s coast, rivaling 2020’s Hurricane Laura. As midnight neared, there were reports of people in St. John the Baptist Parish stuck in their homes as the waters rose. Entergy reported “catastrophic damage” to its grid and said a “load imbalance” had occurred. The company has yet to fully explain the consequences, but the failure meant no one in the city had any power unless it came from a generator, and the Sewerage & Water Board lost a key source of power to drainage pumps. Notable buildings across the region were damaged by Ida, including the Karnofsky tailor shop – a key jazz landmark – the Municipal and Traffic Court buildings in New Orleans – and a senior complex in Metairie. The impacts were likely more catastrophic in the coastal areas where Ida first made landfall, but officials were still trying to take stock. Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes were damaged by winds, Grand Isle was flooded, as was Jean Lafitte, and the impact at Port Fourchon remained unknown. Boil water advisories have been issued. As conditions subside Monday, metro area leaders, its institutions and its residents will take stock of the setbacks and losses. We'll be there to tell their stories. Five ways to stay informed about tropical weather1. Sign up for e-mail newsletters: Learn more here. 2. Download our smartphone apps + enable push notifications: App Store | Google Play 3. Follow us on social media - Twitter: @NOLAnews
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