Rescuers rush to save residents stranded by flooding from Ida
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LAFITTE, La. (NewsNation Now) — Thousands of national guard soldiers have spent the past 48 hours conducting rescues by air and boat, with some crews going door to door to get to people trapped in their homes after Ida hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday.
The Louisiana National Guard says they’ve rescued 359 people and more than 50 pets.
In Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, the levee around the town was too low for Ida and now almost everything is underwater.
“Too much water came in at one time and it toppled over the wall,” said Eldon Robichaux, who lives in Lafitte.
Belongings in Robichaux’s home were floating around Tuesday. However, his family remained positive, thanking God that they were safe.
While visiting the town, NewsNation reporter Brian Entin met a woman who used an air horn to get rescuers’ attention.
“Thank God for that airhorn,” the woman said.
Rescue and clean-up efforts, in some cases, are being complicated by the high waters and alligators.
In Slidell, Louisiana, NewsNation affiliate WGNO reports authorities are searching for the remains of a 71-year-old man after an alligator attack. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office says the man’s wife saw her husband in the jaws of the alligator as the reptile ripped the man’s arm from his body. She went to get help. When she returned, her husband was gone.
Despite no signs of the victim, the STPSO has yet to pronounce him dead.
So far, Ida has been blamed for at least four deaths.
Several people were injured, including a truck driver whose 18-wheeler flipped after a tornado hit the town of Saraland, Alabama Monday. NewsNation affiliate WKRG reports widespread damage across the city.
Remnants of Ida also devastated the town of Hurley, Virginia. Four people are missing and more than 20 houses are destroyed due to flood waters, according to NewsNation affiliate WJHL.
NewsNation spoke with Todd Terrell. He is the president of the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit that helps with search and rescue and disaster relief. See the interview in the player below.
NewsNation affiliates WGNO, WKRG, WJHL and KARK contributed to this report.