NEW ORLEANS (Thursday, Sept 2, 2021) — Today, the City of New Orleans updated residents on Hurricane Ida response and recovery efforts.
City agencies and public safety officials continue to assess damages sustained during the storm. Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other City officials continue to prioritize residential needs by moving resources to neighborhoods.
Recovery updates are as follows:
Community Resources
FIRST AID STATION
Services will be limited and include oxygen exchange, minimal prescribing ability, medical device charging, and other basic health assessments. No medications will be available on site. 24/7
- Operating 24/7, Central City Senior Center, 2101 Philip St.
COOLING CENTERS EVERYDAY
A/C, device charging, water, FEMA assistance
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Treme Recreation Center (900 N. Villere St)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Cut Off Recreation Center (6600 Belgrade St.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Gernon Brown Recreation Center (1001 Harrison Ave.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Milne Recreation Center (5420 Franklin Ave.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Stallings St. Claude Recreation Center (4300 St. Claude Ave.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., John P. Lyons Recreation Center (624 Louisiana Ave.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Joe W. Brown Recreation Center (5601 Read Blvd.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Rosenwald Recreation Center (1120 S. Broad Ave.)
POINTS OF DISTRIBUTION (PODs) FRIDAY
MREs, water, ice
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Joe W. Brown Park, (5475 Read Blvd.)
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Mahalia Jackson Auditorium, (1451 Basin St.)
- 8 a.m.- 6 p.m., Skelly Park, (2515 Vespasian Blvd.)
- 12 p.m.-6 p.m., Wesley Barrow Stadium, (6500 Press Dr.)
MEALS EVERYDAY
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Rosenwald Recreation Center, (1120 S. Broad Ave.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Joe W. Brown Recreation Center, (5601 Read Blvd.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Lyons Recreation Center, (624 Louisiana Ave.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Gernon Brown Recreation Center, (1001 Harrison Ave.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Cut Off Recreation Center, (6600 Belgrade St.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Treme Recreation Center, (900 N. Villere St.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Stallings St. Claude Recreation Center, (4300 St. Claude St.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Milne Recreation Center, (5420 Franklin Ave.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., Life Transformation Community Center, (8606 Marks St.)
- Plus numerous other sites, which are listed at ready.nola.gov/meals
TARPS/ WATER DISTRIBUTION- ORGANIZED BY NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL
- 11 a.m.- 1 p.m., Dryades YMCA, (2220 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.)
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., Notre Dame Seminary, (2901 S. Carrollton Ave.)
Blue Tarp Distribution
- The Army Corp of Engineers is providing blue tarps for Orleans Parish residents that sustained roof damage
- Visit Blue Roof Information (army.mil) for information on how to retrieve a blue tarp
City Utilities
Entergy New Orleans
- Power has been restored to 30,000 customers
- A second transmission line was brought in this morning from the Western part of the city; yesterday’s transmission line was brought in from Slidell
- 13 substations back online; 14 substations still offline
- Parts of Mid-City, Carrollton, the CBD, and New Orleans East. More neighborhoods are seeing power restoration, prioritizing critical care customers such as hospitals and fire departments
- Entergy will continue to mobilize crews following the flow of electricity to restore the city’s power where possible and where customers need it most
- Residents are encouraged to avoid damaged equipment and downed powerlines
- Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media
Orleans Parish Communication District
- 9-1-1 and 3-1-1 services are fully operational
- Some cell phone carriers are continuing to experience difficulty connecting to 9-1-1
- If your cell phone cannot connect to 9-1-1, residents are encouraged to dial using a landline, call 504-671-3600 or text 9-1-1 for emergency services if needed
- If your cell phone cannot connect to 3-1-1, dial 504-539-3266 or text “Hello” to 311YES (311937)
- City service requests can also be submitted at nola311.gov
- 9-1-1 should only be used for life-threatening emergencies
- 3-1-1 should be used for non-life-threatening emergencies and non-emergency service requests
City Agencies
New Orleans Police Department
- The Louisiana National Guard and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office continue to support NOPD in securing the City
- The City of New Orleans has enacted a daily curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 p.m. until further notice that will be strictly enforced
New Orleans Public Libraries
- Libraries will be closed through Labor Day
NOLA Public Schools
- NOLA Public Schools’ assessment recovery is still underway
- Teams are gathering information on the City’s power grid and its impact on schools
- Schools will remain closed until there are significant improvements in power
- More detailed updates on the status of school operations moving forward by Sept. 7 are forthcoming
Department of Public Works
- DPW has cleaned 202 catch basins, 61 manholes and 3,127 linear feet of drain lines.
- DPW is continuing to support sanitation cleanup on major thoroughfares:
- As of this morning, debris has been cleared on more than 100 miles of right of ways (ROWs).
- Crews continue to work extended shifts to clean catch basins/clear ROWs.
- Drain line and catch basin cleaning emergency contract with an estimated 15-20 vac trucks should be in place later this week.
- Stop signs are in place at major intersections near the 8 City cooling centers:
- An additional 500 stop signs will arrive today and will be placed around the Point of Distribution spots and other major intersections.
- DPW is setting up an emergency contract for streetlight and street signpost damage assessments; these assessments will begin early next week:
- In the meantime, crews continue removing hazardous poles/streetlights where possible.
- Claiborne Auto Pound (400 N. Claiborne) – open daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Vehicle owners may retrieve vehicles at no cost, however, if towed at later date, prior fines apply.
- Red light cameras across the city are solar-powered and have been reported as flashing. However, any ticket generated since Hurricane Ida hit, until further notice will be voided and no one should receive citations.
Capital Projects Administration / Property Management
- There are 441 City-owned facilities – we have completed post damage assessments on 70 facilities.
- A supplemental contract is currently advertised for emergency repair assessments of city owned facilities; that additional support will be on board in the next few days.
- Supporting the National Guard with barricades and other equipment necessary for their operations at Point of Distribution sites.
Department of Sanitation
Place storm-related debris curbside in the following categories:
1.) Household Garbage: Bagged garbage, discarded food, paper, packaging. (Use City issued trash cart when possible).
2.) Construction Debris: building materials, drywall, lumber, carpet, furniture, etc.
3.) Unbagged Vegetative Debris: logs, leaves, tree branches, plants.
4.) Appliances: Doors must be sealed/secured.
Do not block roadways or place debris near trees, poles, or fire hydrants.
- Sanitation contractors will start regularly scheduled Thursday collection routes TOMORROW with approximately 25% of their workforce. Crews will only empty the 95-gallon, city-issued trash carts. Storm debris collection won’t begin until next week.
Parks and Parkways
- Grounds Maintenance continues the push to clear major roadways, today on Esplanade, Marconi, Argonne and Milne:
- Curb to curb to allow debris contractors to remove debris along with Sanitation and Parkways in the coming weeks.
- All City Parks remain closed while damage assessments are being completed – in particular Jackson Square, Louis Armstrong Park / Congo Square, Brechtel Park and Washington Square Park.
- Forestry continues street assessments to identify ROW obstructions of trees that require Forestry teams (cross checking with 311 reports).
- Cleared more than 80 and counting significant obstructions. Several have been sent to our tree contractor for removal assistance. Also, several remain that require safety clearance from Entergy.
- Coordination with Sanitation continues so that overlap between debris contractor and our efforts does not occur.
MSY Airport
Delta Airlines has limited flights at the airport. All other airline flights are completely cancelled. Currently there is no update on when they will resume. Contact your individual airline for updates on flight statuses.
Additional State and Local Resources
Disaster SNAP (DSNAP)
To pre-register your application if DSNAP is approved for your parish. Visit
dcfs.la.gov/preregister for more information.
For Louisiana participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), you can use your benefits to purchase “hot” or prepared foods through September 28, 2021, following a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- FEMA representatives have been deployed to Orleans Parish to support recovery efforts, including at each of the cooling centers daily.
- Residents are encouraged to register online at disasterassistance.gov
- Affected residents can also download the FEMA APP or call 1-800-621-3362 to register
- Homeowners or renters with insurance policies are encouraged to file a claim with individual insurance provider
Insurance
If you have insurance, contact your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance provider to file a claim. If you have not filed a claim with your insurance company or provided a copy of your insurance settlement approval or denial to FEMA, you will likely receive a notification that there is “no decision.” This means FEMA may need additional information from you to continue processing your application.
For FEMA Assistance
For survivors who live in one of the 25 designated Parishes for Individual Assistance: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
FEMA disaster assistance may be available to help pay uninsured or underinsured losses such as home repair for disaster-related damage, rental assistance, reimbursement for lodging expenses for individuals whose home was inaccessible or unhabitable during the disaster, medical expenses incurred from this disaster or other disaster-related needs.
Eligible survivors may be eligible for a one-time payment per household of $500 for immediate or critical lifesaving and life-sustaining items such as water, food, fuel for transportation, or prescriptions.
FEMA may provide one month of expedited rental assistance to eligible applicants who reported their essential utilities are temporarily unavailable and whose primary home is in the one of the following parishes only: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Washington.
To apply for FEMA assistance, add information or check status, go to
disasterassistance.gov or call 800-621-3362.
Unemployment Insurance (UI Benefits)
Some workers, particularly gig workers can qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), which is federal unemployment assistance.
The minimum amount is determined by the federal government. It is usually approximately $108 per week. This amount can increase based on wage proof provided by the claimant. The max amount is $247.
Shelter Coordination
- State and federal agencies are coordinating a 100 bed federally supported regional facility for people with critical medical needs at the E. N. Morial Convention Center
- Shelter will be strictly limited to individuals with serious physical medical issues, ventilators, and/or electric life-preserving devices
- Narrow triage criteria will be applied for entry to patients who are extremely vulnerable to heat-related illness that would cause premature death
- Shelter will be staffed by federally provided Disaster Medical Assistance Team
- For state-run shelters, contact Department of Children and Family Services
To receive Ida recovery and response information, or to sign up for the Special Needs Registry, text NOLAREADY to 77295, download the Smart911 app or call 311.
