NASA’s Satellite Notes Power Outage in New Orleans Caused by Hurricane Ida: When Will Electricity Return?

Large areas of Louisiana are experiencing electric power outages owing to downed lines and damaged transmission towers three days after Hurricane Ida delivered strong wind, rain, and storm waves to the state. Many residents are also without running water and gasoline, according to Associated Press, due to damaged infrastructure.

With the aid of NASA's satellites, the power loss in New Orleans was mapped out. scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) traced the outages using satellite data.

NASA Satellites Reveal How Power Outage in New Orleans Look Like From Space

NASA used Satellites Suomi NPP and Landsat 8 for the mapping. The Suomi NPP satellite, according to NASA's Earth Observatory, was able to gather evening lighting data of New Orleans from August 9 to August 31.

Meanwhile, the data for the New Orleans base maps came from the Landsat 8 satellite.

USRA scientist and Black Marble Project leader Miguel Román was "surprised" that there are no clouds in the photograph. After an occurrence like this, it generally takes at least 48 hours for the skies to clear out enough to see.

The images also recorded diesel-power or backup generation, according to Román.

How Long Will the Power Outage Last in New Orleans?

NASA's Earth Observatory, citing PowerOutage.US, said there were at least 900,000 households and businesses in Louisiana without electricity. In Mississippi, some 30,000 homes and businesses are without electricity.

CNN said the power outage in Louisiana "may continue at least a month" as the state recovers from Hurricane Ida's devastation.

Power outages are becoming a significant issue, especially as the summer heat persists.

According to the same CNN report, temperatures in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi can reach the 90s, with "heat indices of up to 108 degrees," which refers to how the temperature feels when combined with humidity and other variables.

Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida hit the coast in Louisiana on Sunday as a category 4 hurricane. When Hurricane Ida made landfall, it sustained 150 miles per hour winds.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana during the 2021 Atlantic storm season, 16 years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall classified as Category 5 hurricane.

The Worldview-2 satellite from Maxar Technologies collected photos of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida in many Louisiana cities and villages. Jean Lafitte, Houma, and La Place are among them.

Images obtained by the Worldview-2 satellite, according to a Space.com article, reveal Ida's wrath ripped the roofs off apartment complexes and other structures, turning them into kindling. The streets and yards of Jean Lafitte are submerged by floodwaters.

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