Damage from Hurricane Ida could reach $80 billion, AccuWeather estimates

The total damage and economic loss from Hurricane Ida could reach $70 billion to $80 billion, according to an estimate from AccuWeather.

The fifth-largest hurricane to ever make landfall in the U.S. Ida — now downgraded to a tropical storm — has left more than a million residents and businesses without power, including the entire city of New Orleans. Officials expect the outages to last a week or longer, straining individuals and businesses as well as jeopardizing people's health in the late-summer heat.  New Orleans-based power company Entergy is sending out a crew of at least 20,000 workers, which it expects will take several days to assess the damage in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana. The storm took out all eight power transmission lines in the area along with some generating stations, and customers in the area could face "extended power outages lasting for weeks," the company said.