Over one million people are without power across Louisiana and Mississippi as Hurricane Ida continued to move inland Monday and has been downgraded to a tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center.
High winds and flooding still pose a significant threat to the area as local officials have instructed evacuated people to not return.
Indiana Task Force 1 has been deployed to conduct urban search and rescue with a team of 45 first responders and civilians.
#INTF1 Deployment Task Force Leader Gerald George gives a final briefing to members activated for this deployment, moments before boarding the bus. 20 of the 45 deployed are from #IFD , 1 from #IMPD , 10 are civilians and the remainder represent 8 other FD's. #TropicalStormIda pic.twitter.com/xjpsJPgD14 — Indiana Task Force 1 (@IN_Task_Force_1) August 27, 2021
All of Orleans Parish lost power on Sunday night due to "catastrophic damage" to the local utility company's transmission system. Entergy New Orleans, the electric utility that provides power to New Orleans and surrounding parishes, said the hardest-hit areas could have outages "for weeks."
The storm made first contact as a Category 4 in the southeastern Louisiana communities of Grand Isle, Houma, Raceland and Cocodrie, with winds topping 140 miles per hour.
The Indiana Task Force 1 received orders Monday morning to move toward New Orleans. The team's exact mission has not been assigned.
The team has received orders this morning to move toward New Orleans. Communication is intermittent due to infrastructure damage but the team is healthy and ready to carry out any mission received. @fema @FEMARegion6 @LAFIREMARSHAL #HurricaneIda pic.twitter.com/6FJyWu28Zg — Indiana Task Force 1 (@IN_Task_Force_1) August 30, 2021
"We're still waiting on them to receive their orders. Once they get them, we'll have more information," said IFD spokesperson Rita Reith.
This is the second time in last two months the task force has been deployed to assist in rescue and recovery as eighty firefighters from around Indiana were sent to South Florida after the Surfside condominium collapse.
READ MORE: Hoosier Firefighters And First Responders Help With Florida Condo Recovery Efforts
Members of Indiana Task Force 1 have also responded to the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1994.
This story will be updated.
