BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) — Two weeks to the day that Hurricane Ida made landfall causing catastrophic damage across Southeast Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a State of Emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Nicholas.
Nicholas is expected to bring heavy rains and flash flooding to the state in the coming week. Areas affected by hurricanes Ida and Laura, and flash flooding earlier in the year, could see impacts from the tropical weather.
According to a media release from Gov. Edwards’ office, there are still 130,478 power outages in Southeast Louisiana caused by Ida as of 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
By activating the state of emergency, Gov. Edwards has taken an administrative step that authorizes the use of state resources to aid in storm response efforts, which are already compromised by ongoing recovery from Ida.
“The most severe threat to Louisiana is in the Southwest portion of the state, where recovery from Hurricane Laura and the May flooding is ongoing.” stated Gov. Edwards. “In this area heavy rain and flash flooding are possible. However, it is also likely that all of South Louisiana will see heavy rain this week, including areas recently affected by Hurricane Ida.
“This tropical storm has the potential to disrupt some power restoration and recovery work currently underway,” the governor continued. “I encourage anyone who has had recent damage from Ida, Laura or other disasters to take necessary measures to protect their home or business from additional harm.
“All Louisianans should to pay close attention to this tropical system in the coming days.”