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Ida deaths rise by 11 in New Orleans

Kevin McGill and Meinda DeslatteAAP
More than 340,000 Louisiana homes and businesses remain without power.
Camera IconMore than 340,000 Louisiana homes and businesses remain without power. Credit: AP

The death toll in Louisiana from Hurricane Ida has risen to 26 after health officials reported 11 additional deaths in New Orleans, mostly older people who perished from the heat.

The announcement was grim news amid signs the city was returning to normal with almost fully restored power and a lifted nighttime curfew.

While New Orleans was generally rebounding from the storm, hundreds of thousands of people outside the city remained without electricity and some of the hardest-hit areas still had no water.

Across southeastern Louisiana, 250,000 students were unable to return to classrooms 10 days after Ida roared ashore with 240km/h winds.

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The latest deaths attributed to Ida happened between August 30 and Monday, but were just confirmed as storm-related by the Orleans Parish coroner, the Louisiana Department of Health said.

Nine of the New Orleans deaths - of people aged 64 to 79 - came from "excessive heat during an extended power outage", while the two others were from carbon monoxide poisoning.

More than a million people were left without power, including the entire city of New Orleans, when Ida struck on August 29.

The state's largest power company, Entergy, said it expected to have electricity in the city restored to 90 per cent by Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Police Department and Mayor LaToya Cantrell lifted an 8pm-6am curfew they had imposed two days after the hurricane hit.

Statewide, about 342,000 homes and businesses remained without power on Wednesday and access to fuel remained difficult. About 44,000 people were still without running water.

The storm's remnants brought historic flooding, record rains and tornados from Virginia to Massachusetts, killing at least 50 more people.

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