Biden traveled to New Orleans and met with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and parish leaders. While giving remarks about his administration’s response in LaPlace Friday afternoon, Biden thanked Edwards for the invitation and acknowledged that many people are “hurting.”
Biden also acknowledged that many are “frustrated” with the speed of recovery, and said that the administration was working to deliver millions of meals and water rations, as well as generators to aid ongoing power restorations.
In an earlier briefing with local leaders, Biden plugged his infrastructure plan as a way to curtail damage from future storms, saying it is important to make highways, bridges and energy systems “resilient” against the effects of climate change.
“There’s nothing political about this,” Biden said in the briefing. “It’s simply about saving lives and getting people back up and running.”
Since Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast a week ago, at least nine people died in Louisiana and two in Mississippi, and more than 875,000 homes and businesses are still without power in both states, according to PowerOutage.us. There is widespread flooding and damage in neighborhoods and gas shortages.
On Thursday, Biden outlined his plan to help recovery efforts in the wake of Ida.
“My message to everyone affected is, we’re all in this together, and the nation is here to help,” Biden said Thursday.
FEMA personnel are already on the ground providing food, water, generators and emergency assistance to clear debris and restore infrastructure.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering living assistance to families in impacted parishes and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent approximately 100 personnel and set up a 250-bed medical station.
The Coast Guard and Department of Defense sent personnel and vehicles to aid in search and rescue efforts and more than 6,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen from Louisiana and 10 other states are on the ground to offer help.
The federal government is also working with energy and communication companies to restore power, gas and cellphone service in the area.
The live updates for this event have ended.
Biden said the investment would update roads, bridges, power grids, drainage and other systems that would potentially curtail damage from future storms.
“We got to build back more resiliently, and we got to make sure we do the same thing across the board,” Biden said.
The coverage would reportedly only be given to people under mandatory evacuations, even when people under the voluntary orders paid their premiums, Biden said.
The president issued a call for the companies to “pay what you owe” to customers, especially since “no one fled this killer storm because they were looking for a vacation or road trip.”
This includes hundreds of generators, Biden said.
He acknowledged that many are “frustrated” at the speed or power restoration, despite more than 25,000 workers aiding the effort.
His remarks, delivered from LaPlace, Louisiana, can be viewed live here.
“This is what we requested. This is what we received,” Guilbeau said in an update posted on the Entergy Louisiana Twitter page.
Nearly 26,000 workers the company were already working on power restorations in the area, the tweet said.
“We will continue to apply the full force of the federal government to help communities with their long road to recovery,” Criswell said in a tweet.
He said he was frustrated with the delays in restoring power. He also authorized the use of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to help get gasoline flowing again, WWL’s Pual Murphy reported.
In an interview with WWLL ahead of Biden’s trip to Louisiana, White House Senior Advisor and Louisiana native Cedric Richmond said the president spoke to the CEO of Entergy personally to offer assistance and to push the company to restore power for hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana.
“We’re not waiting to do things,” Richmond added. “President Biden is calling out insurance companies that are denying temporary housing assistance because it wasn’t a mandatory evacuation. He’s saying ‘it’s an obligation, don’t hide behind a technicality.’”
“There’s nothing political about this,” Biden said briefing with local officials in LaPlace. “It’s simply about saving lives and getting people back up and running.”
“We’re going to have your back until this gets done,” he added. “I’m here to listen.”
Biden also took the opportunity to push his infrastructure bill that calls for significant investment into infrastructure to “build back better” for the future.
He encouraged Louisiana officials to review the plan and “look if what we’re suggesting makes sense to you.”
“If power lines are built underground, it costs money but it runs better,” Biden said.
Biden said it is important to make highways, bridges and energy systems “resilient” against the effects of climate change.
“It saves a whole lot of money and pain for our constituency to build [these systems] back in a better way,” Biden said. “[The bill] creates significant, good-paying jobs and generate economic growth.”
Biden referenced the success of the federal investment to rebuild levees in New Orleans stronger after Hurricane Katrina.
“The levee project was a lot of money but think about how much money it saved, how many lives it saved,” Biden said to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.
He is now continuing his journey to LaPlace.
Scalise outlined these goals to President Biden once he landed in New Orleans.
State officials are hoping for certain recovery waivers from federal agencies, which Biden was receptive to hear, Scalise said.
Scalise also prepared Biden for the extend of the damage the president will see during his tour.
“Ther is more damaging than we’ve ever seen, [Hurricane Ida] was more powerful than [Hurrincane] Katrina,” Scalise said. “It will probably be upgraded to a category 5. It did real serious damage to many parishes and we will continue to rely on help from the federal government.”
Scalise said entire neighborhoods were “flattened” during the strong, sustained winds that “took a severe toll” on homes and the electric grids.
Biden is joined by Cedric Richmond, the president’s senior advisor and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Richmond is an essential addition to the president’s trip, as he is from Louisiana and adds a personal understanding to the area and the effect of storms like Ida.
Biden and Richmond are taking the time to speak with these state and local leaders on the tarmac.
Air Force One just landed at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans.
Approximately 150 soldiers from engineer units, military police and transportation departed Friday.
The Army Corps of Engineers is currently delivering a pump to Lafitte to remove water from roadways.
People are still without power while enduring triple-digit temperatures.
One resident toldNBC’s Shaquille Brewster that he would tell President Biden to “find a way to get gas supplies to the town.”
Entergy Louisiana released a more detailed report of the power restoration timeline in New Orleans neighborhoods.
However, flooding on LA 3257 in Lafitte, Jefferson Parish has made road clearing operations difficult, DOTD said.
A site will open at noon at Helen Cox High School in Harvey. There are two other sites open at the Alario Center and the Shrine on Airline.
Water, ice, tarps and meal-ready-to-eat (MREs) will be available at each site.
Louisiana Governor John Edwards said people in 25 parishes are eligible to receive this aid.
A coroner classified three of the four deaths as storm-related, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) said in a statement Thursday.
Over 800 people from seven nursing homes experienced “deteriorating” conditions at the warehouse after Ida hit Sunday.
“Upon hearing reports of deteriorating conditions at the facility after Hurricane Ida made landfall, LDH inspectors promptly visited the site but were expelled from the property and prevented from conducting a full assessment on Tuesday,” the statement said.
Louisiana Department of Health spokesperson Aly Neel told the Associated Press that people were lying on mattresses on the flood, not being fed or changed and not being socially distanced to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards vowed to investigate whether the nursing home owner “failed to keep residents safe and whether he intentionally obstructed efforts to check in on them and determine what the conditions were in the shelter” and promised to take “aggressive legal action” if necessary.
Camellia Bay Casino sponsored a supplies drive in Slidell.
The National Guard is handing out ice and water in New Orleans.
Entergy Louisiana released a list of estimated restoration times for areas affected by Hurricane Ida.
“Specific restoration times down to the local area are continuing to be developed and will be released in the coming days,” Entergy Louisiana said. “Estimates are subject to change, and we’ll issue updates as we learn more.”
He is set to receive a briefing from local leaders at St. John Parish’s Emergency Operations Center, the White House said.
Later, Biden will tour a neighborhood in LaPlace, Louisiana and inspect damage by an areal tour of hard-hit areas including Laffite, Grand Isle, Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish.
He will fly out of South Lafourche Leonard Miller Jr. Airport back to New Orleans en route to Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on his administration’s response to Hurricane Ida at 4:15 p.m. ET.
