La. National Guard prepared, ready for Hurricane Ida response

By Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard is prepared and positioned in potentially affected areas for emergency operations ahead of Hurricane Ida, Aug. 29, 2021, while continuing its COVID-19 response missions. Louisiana’s Guardsmen are trained, remain ready and are fully equipped to stand up at any moment to protect lives and property, maintain communications, and ensure the continuity of operations and government.

More than 4,900 Louisiana Guardsmen have been activated in support of current operations. In addition to

195 high-water vehicles and 73 rescue boats prepped and staged across south Louisiana, the LANG has 34 helicopters ready to support search and rescue, evacuation and recon missions as needed.

To help better assist coordination efforts at the local level, the LANG will have liaison officer teams in 23 parishes today and is prepared to support in other parishes as requested.
The Regional Staging Area in Tangipahoa Parish has trucks and trailers ready to deliver food and water to affected citizens after the storm has passed.

Additionally, the LANG has staged engineer work teams in three parishes to assist with assessing potentially compromised infrastructure and post-storm debris removal and route clearance, if needed.

The LANG will continue to assist the on-going missions during the COVID-19 pandemic response, including medical support, logistics, engineering and planning support.

To date, the LANG has:
• Administered 437,364 COVID tests
• Packaged over 33.9 million pounds of food
• Tested 437,360 citizens at testing sites statewide
• Overseen the administration of 104,591 vaccines and transported 68,244 vials of vaccine