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Louisiana governor says damage from Hurricane Ida is "catastrophic"

30 August 2021
Dan Ackermann

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday the damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the state on record, "is really catastrophic."

Why it matters: Edwards, speaking on NBC's the TODAY Show, did not confirm if there were additional deaths beyond the first death that had been confirmed on Sunday night but said, "I fully expect the confirmed death total to go up considerably."

  • Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies responding to reports of a tree falling on a person in Prairieville on Sunday night "confirmed that the victim" had died.

What they're saying: The damage from Hurricane Ida, while severe, would have been far more extensive if the Louisiana's levee system did not hold throughout the storm, Gov. Edwards said.

By the numbers: More than 1 million customers in the state, particularly in the southeast, were still without power on Monday.

  • Entergy Louisiana, one of the energy providers in the state, said in a statement Sunday that people could be without power for weeks after the storm passes.

New Orlean's 911 dispatch system and other emergency services were still offline on Monday morning after the storm knocked out power for the entire city on Sunday night and heavily damaged several buildings and homes.

Sharing some pics of #Ida’s damage around town. This is an extremely hazardous situation and we encourage everyone to stay off the roads. 911 service remains out at this time. pic.twitter.com/6FNNhiXfBF

— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) August 30, 2021

The big picture: Though Ida has weakened to a tropical storm, it is still projected to bring heavy rainfall and flooding to the South into parts of the East as it moves inland, according to the National Weather Service.

Go deeper:Climate change lurks behind Hurricane Ida's unnerving intensification rate

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly 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.