Get our free mobile app

Man, Shreveport/Bossier City is packed!  Just like during major hurricanes of the past that require mass evacuations from the coast, our neck of the woods is a pretty prime spot for folks looking to lay low from the wrath mother nature loves to throw Louisiana's way.  That being said: Ida was not an ordinary hurricane.

So far (fingers crossed) the number of fatalities is relatively low.  According to the Washington Post, 4 total deaths (2 in Mississippi and 2 in Louisiana) can be directly attributed to the storm.  The damage to property and infrastructure is a different story altogether.

With power out to more than a million homes and businesses in the New Orleans area alone and close to 441,000 people have no running water -  hospitals, traffic & street lights, 911 call centers and so many other extremely vital things are basically non-existent right now.  Because of that alarming fact, Governor John Bel Edwards is asking residents who fled the storm not to come home - indefinitely.

According to the report from the Guardian, our governor had more instructions for Louisiana's evacuees.  During his Tuesday press conference, Edwards had this message for residents:

 ...do not return here or elsewhere in south-east Louisiana until the office of emergency preparedness tells you it’s ready to receive you.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

TIPS: Here's how you can prepare for power outages

 

Read More: Why Does It Only Hail in Summer? And Other Weird Weather Facts

More From Highway 98.9