Crews move to rescue people stranded by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana
31 August 2021
Crews were working to rescue people trapped by former Hurricane Ida’s floodwaters as utility repair workers moved to try and restore power to over 1 million customers in Louisiana Monday, per AP.
The big picture: NASA Earth said preliminary data suggests the deadly storm was the fifth-strongest storm "ever to make landfall in the continental U.S." when it hit Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday, leaving New Orleans with no electricity except power from generators.
- The storm weakened to a strong tropical depression on Monday, but it was bringing heavy rains, flash flooding, storm surge and extreme winds as it moved north-northeast across Mississippi, per Axios' Andrew Freedman.
What else is happening: The Louisiana Department of Health reported a second death from the storm on Monday, a man who drowned while trying to get his vehicle through floodwater in New Orleans.
- More than 1 million customers in Louisiana were still without power overnight, per Poweroutage.us.
In photos: Ida pummels Gulf Coast
A car buried under rubble after a building was destroyed by Ida on Aug. 30 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
A man helps a stranded motorist in floodwaters on Beach Blvd. on August 30, 2021 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Vehicles are damaged after the front of a building collapsed during Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29 in New Orleans. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Pedestrians on Bourbon Street during a citywide power outage caused by Hurricane Ida in New Orleans on Aug. 29. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Heavy rain falls as storm surge begins to encroach on Louisiana Route 1 ahead of Ida in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, on Aug. 29. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A cyclist riding through rain and high winds in New Orleans on Aug. 29. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
The storm topples trees in downtown New Orleans on Aug. 29. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A truck is seen in heavy winds and rain in Bourg, Louisiana, on Aug. 29. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
A section of a building's roof is seen after being blown off during rain and winds in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Aug. 29. Photo: Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Motorists drive down Canal Street in New Orleans as Hurricane Ida brings heavy rain on Aug. 29. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Go deeper: Louisiana governor says damage from Hurricane Ida is "catastrophic"
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.