Biden says hardest-hit states are resilient

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has spoken with officials in states pounded by Hurricane Ida, detailing the federal effort to survey damage and ensure access to electricity, water and cell phone service.

The president said Monday that state officials should contact the White House if they need additional support — even though the effort is being led by FEMA.

"We'll get you what you need if we can," Biden said. "The people of Louisiana and Mississippi are resilient. But it's in moments like these where we can certainly see the power of government to respond to the needs of the people, if government's prepared and if they respond."

Also Monday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said it had activated its Hurricane Response Team as Hurricane Ida made its way through the Gulf.

Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of late morning Monday, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 288 production platforms, 51.43 percent of the 560 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Personnel have been evacuated from 11 rigs, equivalent to 100% of the 11 rigs of this type currently operating in the Gulf. Rigs can include several types of offshore drilling facilities.

A total of seven dynamically positioned rigs have moved off location out of the storm's projected path, as a precaution.

It is estimated that approximately 94.6% of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in, according to operator reports.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates that approximately 93.57% of the gas production in the Gulf has been shut in.

Production information included in these reports is based on the amount of oil and gas the operator expected to produce that day. The shut-in production figures therefore are estimates, which the agency compares to historical production.

The facilities will be inspected after the storm has passed.

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HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HURRICANE IDA:

Rescuers set out in hundreds of boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters, and utility repair crews rushed in, after a furious Hurricane Ida swamped the Louisiana coast and ravaged the electrical grid in the sticky, late-summer heat. ___

Read more:

— As Ida leaves Gulf, analysts foresee modest economic damage

— No cash or gas to run from Ida: 'We can't afford to leave'

— Flood-ravaged Tennessee community braces for Ida remnants

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell says a driver in New Orleans drowned during Hurricane Ida, which may raise the storm's death toll to two.

Cantrell says additional details about the death would come from the coroner's office, but those were not immediately forthcoming.

"This case remains under investigation," coroner's spokesman Jason Melancon said when asked in an email about Cantrell's statement. He would not answer specific questions about whether the coroner's office is investigating a drowning death or an Ida-related death.

A person also was killed outside Baton Rouge amid the storm when a tree fell on a home, authorities said.

The name of either victim have yet to be released.

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NEW ORLEANS — Police in New Orleans say they have received numerous reports of stealing from stores and other businesses, and made several arrests, in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

"This will not be tolerated," Police Chief Shaun Ferguson said at a Monday briefing. He specifically described what was occurring as looting, saying, "This is a state felony, and we will be booking you accordingly."

The police chief added of a storm that has left widespread damage, "This is not the time to take opportunity of our vulnerable population right now, which we all are vulnerable at this point in time."

New Orleans police are working with the Louisiana National Guard to prevent thefts. Police are working 12-hour shifts, and it's "all hands on deck," Ferguson said.

The storm damaged power and water systems in many parts of Louisiana and made communication difficult. AT&T said Monday that it has set up a mobile tower at the Louisiana emergency preparedness and state police compound in the state capital of Baton Rouge, to try and get cell service working for the governor's office and other first responders.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials Monday declared public health emergencies for Louisiana and Mississippi, seeking to suspend government red tape that may get in the way of providing help to people affected by Hurricane Ida.

The emergency declaration by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra puts a pause on certain payment rules and other requirements that could become an unwelcome distraction for hospitals and doctors trying to provide services under stressful conditions.

One example is a requirement that health care professionals be licensed in the state they provide care.

HHS has also staged an incident management team in Dallas to provide coordination of federal health and medical support after Ida passes through the region. Another team is providing support for people needing kidney dialysis.

People in emotional distress in affected areas can call 1-800-985-5990 for counseling help, or text TalkWithUs to 66746.

___ NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans residents faced a massive cleanup effort and possibly weeks without power. Whole toppled trees blocked streets, pulled down power lines, covered yards and damaged homes.

With power likely to be out for weeks, John Pope said he would survive without electricity -- with help from neighbors who have a generator -- until a scheduled trip out of town next week.

Ehab Meselhe, a professor in Tulane's engineering school, planned to head out of town once he and his wife finished cleaning up the tree branches and limbs littering their yard. "I have another house in Lafayette," he said. "Once power is back, we'll come back."

A few blocks away, Hank Fanberg stuffed hurricane debris into a garbage back as generators roared on either side of his lightly damaged house. He said neighbors on both sides have generators and they have both already offered, "so we're going to be in good shape in terms of some electricity."

Sitting on a screened porch while listening to a battery-operated radio and feeding her one-year-old daughter, Pamela Mitchell wasn't sure what she would do. She had already spent a hot and frightening night at home while Ida's winds shrieked. She was thinking about trying to leave. But her 14-year-old daughter, Michelle, was determined to stay, preparing to clean out the refrigerator and put perishables in an ice chest. "We went a week before -- with Zeta," she said, recalling the hurricane that hit the city last fall. "So, we'll be all right."