Across eight states, 84 people died due to Ida’s wrath.
The death toll from Hurricane Ida and its aftermath continues to rise, as local residents try to rearrange their lives, and officials rescue oil-drenched birds affected by the storm-related oil spill.
Overall, 84 people died in eight states due to Ida’s wrath as a Category 4 storm that made landfall on August 29. And in the northeast alone, 54 people died.
The New Jersey death toll rose to 29 on Friday after Passaic City Mayor Hector C. Laura said two bodies retrieved from the Passaic River Wednesday and Thursday had been identified as the two people were reported missing the day the storm hit the state.
Laura said they were introduced to friends Nidhi Rana, 18, and Aayush Rana, 21, by the state’s regional medical examiner. Press Conference Friday.
Search and rescue teams have been searching the river all week. Nidi’s body was found in waters near Kearney Wednesday, and Ayush’s body was found the next day near the Newark border, the authors said.
They were last seen in Passaic trying to escape from their car that was swept away by torrential flood waters caused by Ida’s remains. [and] Laura said previously.
“They were our prom king and queen this year… They were avid tennis players and members of community clubs and schools,” said Laura.
Another man died in the flood waters in Passaic.
Laura announced last week that Luis Jalil Solarzario, 70, of Clifton, died on Sept. 1 when his car sank in floodwaters, but his wife, 66, and 25-year-old son were rescued by firefighters.
Meanwhile, in Louisiana, the Orleans Coroner Parish office on Wednesday confirmed 11 additional storm-related deaths, bringing the state’s total death toll from Ida to 26.
Ida has also affected animals in the state, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said, with more than 100 oil-stained birds documented from a hurricane-related oil spill at the Alliance refinery in Bell Chass.
The oil-contaminated birds were spotted in heavy pockets of crude oil throughout the facility, near flooded fields and storage ponds, the agency said.
Infected birds have been identified as black-bellied hyacinth ducks, blue-winged teals and various species of egrets. Other wild animals that have been observed with some degree of lubrication include alligators, river otters, and feeders.
Officials say the effect of recovery could take weeks.
So far 10 oiled birds have been captured and taken to a rehabilitation center for cleaning. Five additional dead birds were found as evidence, Associated Press mentioned.
The force continues to slowly return to Louisiana, where more than a million people were left in the dark in the direct wake of Ida.
Twelve days after Ida hit, more than 80% of power was restored to the 948,000 Intergy Utility customers in the South who lost electricity due to the hurricane, the company said in Friday update.
In Louisiana, 166,000 people have been without power and 76% of customers have regained power so far. On Friday, the company said about 1,000 people were still in the dark in New Orleans.