ARAB TIMES, TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021 INTERNATIONAL 6

Weather

‘At least one dead’ Ida traps Louisianans, leaves grid in disarray NEW ORLEANS, Aug 30, (AP): Rescue work- ers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by fl oodwaters and utility crews mobilized Monday after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and shattered a large swath of the state’s electrical grid in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. mainland weakened into a tropical storm overnight as it pushed in- land over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds, its danger far from over. Ida was blamed for at least one death - someone hit by a falling tree outside Baton Rouge - but with many roads impassable and cellphone service knocked out in places, the full extent Edwards of its fury was still coming into focus. All of New Orleans lost power right around sunset Sunday as the hurricane blew ashore on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, leading to an uneasy night of pouring rain and howling wind. The weather died down shortly before dawn, and people began carefully walking around neigh- borhoods with fl ashlights, dodging downed light poles, pieces of roofs and branches. “I had a long miserable night,” said Chris At- kins, who was in his New Orleans home when he heard a “kaboom” and all the sheetrock in the liv- Traffi c diverts around downed power lines Monday, Aug 30, 2021, in Metairie, La. A fearsome Hurricane Ida has left scores of coastal Louisiana residents trapped by fl oodwaters ing room fell into the house. A short time later, the and pleading to be rescued, while making shambles of the electrical grid across a wide swath of the state in the sweltering, late-summer heat. One of the most powerful hurricanes whole side of the living room fell onto his neigh- ever to hit the US mainland has now weakened into a tropical storm as it pushes inland over Mississippi with torrential rain and shrieking winds. (AP) bor’s driveway. “Lucky the whole thing didn’t fall inward. It would have killed us,” he said. An area just west of New Orleans got about 17 Parole inches (43 centimeters) of rain in 20 hours, Greg Carbin of NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center tweeted. The fl ooding from the rain and surge in the Sirhan convicted of killing his father maze of rivers and bayous south of New Orleans threatened hundreds of homes. On social media, people posted their addresses and directed search and rescue teams to their attics or rooftops. Rescuers moved to launch hundreds of boats RFK’s oldest son condemns parole into the fl oodwaters in the morning. The Louisi- BOSTON, Aug 30, (AP): Former con- reverse the decision over the ongoing Rory Kennedy. ana National Guard said it activated 4,900 Guard gressman Joseph P. Kennedy II, the old- review period and that the California Joe Kennedy said Sunday that anyone personnel and lined up 195 high-water vehicles, est son of Robert F. Kennedy, denounced governor, if faced with the choice to who kills for political reasons should 73 rescue boats and 34 helicopters. Local and state the possible parole of the man convicted release him, will keep him in prison to “know that he will at a minimum spend agencies were adding hundreds of more. of killing his father in California in 1968. serve out his full life sentence,” Ken- life in prison without parole. ” Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans knew “Two commissioners of the 18-mem- nedy wrote. “The prisoner killed my father because of 500 people who said they were going to stay in ber California Parole Board made a Robert F. Kennedy was a U.S. sena- of his support of Israel,” Kennedy wrote areas that were fl ooded, and it began sending out grievous error last Friday in recom- tor from New York and the brother of in a separate statement. “The man was dozens of boats to account for everyone and start mending the release of the man who President John F. Kennedy, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. rescuing them, Parish Council member Deano Bo- In this image provided by the California murdered my father,” Kennedy wrote in assassinated in 1963. RFK was seeking Yet he now may walk free, no doubt to nano told WWL-TV. Department of Corrections and Reha- the emailed statement released Sunday. the Democratic presidential nomination the cheers of those who share his views. bilitation, Sirhan Sirhan arrives for a “I understand that there are differing when he was gunned down at the Am- Let there be no mistake, the prisoner’s Efforts parole hearing in San Diego. Sirhan views about ending the sentence of this bassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments release will be celebrated by those who “I know people have family members in here faces his 16th parole hearing Friday killer, including within my own family. after delivering a victory speech in the believe that political disagreements can they are trying to check on. They can’t get to them. for fatally shooting U.S. Sen. Robert F. But emotions and opinions do not change pivotal California primary. Five others be solved by a gun.” The water is too high. We’re going to do our best Kennedy. (AP) facts or history.” were wounded. Kennedy, on a more personal note, efforts to get them out,” Bonano said. The board on Friday found that Sirhan Joe Kennedy II is one of RFK and spoke of growing up without a father. More than a million customers in Louisiana and Sirhan, 77, no longer poses a threat to so- Ethel Kennedy’s 11 children, nine of “The prisoner left a pregnant mother Mississippi were without power, according to Pow- ciety, noting that he had enrolled in more whom are still alive. Two of them, Rob- of ten without a husband and soon-to-be erOutage.US, which tracks outages nationwide, in- America than 20 programs including anger man- ert F. Kennedy Jr., and Douglas Ken- 11 children without a father.” creasing their vulnerability to fl ooding and leaving agement classes, Tai Chi and Alcoholics nedy, said they supported the release of He added: “We miss him every mo- them without air conditioning and refrigeration. Man against virus measures dies: A man Anonymous meetings. Sirhan. ment of every day, and struggle to under- Entergy said all eight major transmission lines who led efforts in his Central Texas communi- The ruling will be reviewed over the Joe Kennedy and fi ve of his siblings stand why the prisoner should be able to into New Orleans were down and the only power ty against mask wearing and other preventative next four months by the board’s staff. said Friday they oppose parole and enjoy the golden years of his life when he was coming from generators, the city’s emergency measures during the coronavirus pandemic has Then it will be sent to the governor, who pledged to fi ght the process every step so viciously stole them from our father.” offi ce tweeted, citing “catastrophic transmission died from COVID-19, one month after being will have 30 days to decide whether to of the way. He was joined by Courtney Sirhan was originally sentenced to damage.” The city relies on Entergy for backup admitted to the emergency room. grant it, reverse it or modify it. Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Christopher death but that has already been reduced power for its stormwater pumps. Caleb Wallace died on Saturday, his wife “I hope the full parole board will G. Kennedy, Maxwell T. Kennedy and to life in prison, Kennedy noted. New Orleans’ levees underwent major improve- Jessica Wallace said on a GoFundMe page ments after Katrina, which in 2015 breached the where she had been posting updates on his city’s fl ood defenses, caused catastrophic fl ooding condition, the San Angelo Standard-Times “We are not real happy with the current state Caleb Wallace was taken to an emergency cated Sunday on Boston’s downtown water- and was blamed for 1,500 deaths. Ida posed its reported Saturday. He was 30 years old and a of America at the moment,” Wallace said in room on July 30 and since Aug. 8, he had been front. biggest test since that disaster. father of three children. His wife is pregnant July 2020. unconscious and on a ventilator. The Middle Passage Port Marker was in- with their fourth child. In April, he wrote a letter to the San Angelo A day before his death, Jessica Wallace had stalled last October at the end of Long Wharf No major fl ooding was reported inside the fl ood “Caleb has peacefully passed on. He will school district, demanding it rescind all its posted on the family’s GoFundMe page that looking out onto Boston Harbor. It is meant to control system that protect New Orleans, but with forever live in our hearts and minds,” Jessica COVID-19 protocols. her husband “was an imperfect man but he acknowledge Boston’s history of slavery and communications spotty and no power, the extent Wallace wrote. Jessica Wallace told the newspaper her loved his family and his little girls more than honor the Africans who were forced into the of the damage across the city was not immediately On July 4, 2020, Caleb Wallace helped or- husband began experiencing COVID-19 anything.” (AP) the transatlantic voyage known as the Middle clear. ganize “The Freedom Rally” in San Angelo. symptoms on July 26 but refused to get test- ❑ ❑ ❑ Passage. Bonano said fl ooding from the rain was as bad People at the event carried signs that criticized ed or go to the hospital. He instead took high The Sunday ceremony included remarks as he had ever seen, but the levee system in Jef- the wearing of masks, business closures, the doses of Vitamin C, zinc aspirin and iver- Marker honoring enslaved Africans: from Michael Creasey, superintendent of the ferson Parish held. science behind COVID-19, and liberal media. mectin, an anti-parasitic medicine that health A public marker to remember the enslaved National Parks of Boston and offi cials from “No issues, no breaches no overtopping - the He also organized the group “The San Angelo officials have urged people not to take for Africans forced to journey across the ocean the downtown Museum of African American levees worked great,” he said. Freedom Defenders.” COVID-19. to toil in the Americas was formally dedi- History. (AP) But the hurricane twisted and collapsed a giant transmission tower along the Mississippi River, and the wires fell into the river, causing wide- spread outages and halting river traffi c, Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Director Joe Va- liente said. Those lines supplied power to the New Orleans area. Smashed “One-hundred percent of the grid is smashed, hundreds of telephone poles snapped, trees hit power lines and just ripped them out,” Valiente told NPR. He said that the entire power grids col- lapsed in about 10 parishes and that it could take six weeks to fully restore power. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said on Sunday that 30,000 utility workers were in the state to help restore electricity. Farther south, emergency offi cials had not heard from Grand Isle since Sunday afternoon. About 40 people stayed on the barrier island, which took the brunt of the hurricane and was swamped by seawater, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told NBC. Edwards warned the state late Sunday that it faces dark days of cleanup without power. But he added: “There is always light after darkness, and I can assure you we are going to get through this.” Ida’s 150 mph (230 kph) winds tied it for the fi fth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland. Its winds were down to 45 mph (72 kph) early Mon- day, and forecasters said it would rapidly weaken while still dumping heavy rain over a large area. Parts of Interstate 10 - the main east-west high- way along the Gulf Coast - were closed because of high water and debris on the road. At one spot, near LaPlace, Louisiana, the water over the high- way was at least 4 feet (1.2 meters) deep, state of- fi cials said. In Mississippi’s southwestern corner, entire neighborhoods were surrounded by fl oodwaters, and many roads were impassable. Ida was expected to pick up speed Monday night before dumping rain on the Tennessee and Ohio River valleys Tuesday, the Appalachian mountain region Wednesday and the nation’s cap- ital on Thursday. Forecasters said fl ash fl ooding and mudslides are possible along Ida’s path before it blows out to sea over New England on Friday. — See Also Page 11