This morning, this is what residents are waking up to. Officials are warning of extreme danger due to storm surge, high winds and tornadoes as well. The biggest hazard now is dangerous flash flooding. Today the storm is crawling through parts of the state, dumping several inches of rain as it does. Ida has been downgraded to a tropical storm this morning after slamming southern Louisiana as a category four storm, packing 150-mile-per-hour winds. The death toll right now stands at one person dead, more than a million people without power this morning after Hurricane Ida tore through the state over the past 24 hours. JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Accessing the damage this morning in Louisiana. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.All of New Orleans without Power after Ida Ida Weakens to Tropical Storm Clyde Cain is Interviewed about the Cajun Navy's Rescue Efforts Houma, Louisiana, Hit Hard by Ida Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome is Interviewed about the Storm Damage House Select Committee Seeks to Preserve Phone Records. To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE. For more information on that go to the Cajun Navy Facebook page. Perhaps dropping off some materials, some supplies- those are always very welcome and of course, financial donations are also very helpful. Rob says there are other ways to help if you can't get out there. "So we don't go in and 'cowboy' try to run things we go in as part of a system and we fill a need, based on what they tell us." Founder Rob Gaudet has been in touch with Houma officials since Wednesday, and he says, when the Force arrives, it will immediately work with recovery efforts already in place. Volunteers for this mission of the Cajun Navy Ground Force came from both local and Texas sources, and everyone has something to contribute to the four-day relief effort. "The route's clear all the way, all the way to Wal-Mart, we're gonna go to the Wal-Mart and get started from there, span out and start clearing trees," offers Gaudet to his group. "Spoke with somebody in our team that's out there looks like they've got a lot of trees down, a lot of work that needs to be done and a lot of people who need to be helped." "There's a lot of stuff going on out there, a lot of destruction," said Cajun Navy volunteer Rex Judice. So the Cajun Navy Ground Force- already with a prep team in place set up at the Wal-Mart in Houma- rounded up a second set of volunteers.who this morning came to this Lafayette staging area with tools, supplies and giving hearts. Part of the reason is that right now- help is "Not" coming from New Orleans the Crescent City has its own issues. "We'll probably the only first-responder, non-profit type organization there for a while because of how it's geographically located." "So we're actually going into Houma where there's a tremendous need, between Houma, Raceland, Thibodaux, Donaldsonville, that whole region needs a lot of help right now," explained Cajun Navy founder Rob Gaudet just minutes before his caravan of six vehicles headed out. Its purpose: to essentially bring light to the folks of Houma who really need that beacon.
The Cajun Navy Ground Force hit the ground running and headed to Houma and Thibodaux Tuesday to assist in relief and repair efforts.