Biden declares New York in disaster state, orders federal aid

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered federal aid to New York after declaring a major disaster in the state.

The aid will supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Ida, including the counties of Bronx, Kings, Queens, Richmond and Westchester, the White House said Monday.

Aid will range from grants for temporary housing and home repairs to low-cost loans for uninsured property losses. The administration announced that other programs will be put in place to help people and businesses recover, the White House said.

The funding is also available to organizations that are helping in recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, down south, more than 500,000 people were without power across Louisiana Monday.

In Jefferson Parish, over 148,000 customers have no lights or air conditioning. More than 45,000 people in Livingston Parish and Ascension Parish were experiencing outages, while 3,277 in Baton Rouge were in the dark.

Ida destroyed 22,000 power poles, more than hurricanes Katrina, Zeta and Delta combined.

More than a million people experienced days without power during the storm. Biden visited Louisiana last week.

Nearly 50 people died in the Northeast due to major flooding caused by the storm. Biden is scheduled to visit New York and New Jersey to survey the damage this week.