NEW ORLEANS • Commercial flights resumed in New Orleans and power returned to parts of the business district Thursday, four days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast, but electricity, drinking water and fuel remained scarce across much of a sweltering Louisiana.

Meanwhile, the remnants of the system walloped parts of the Northeast, dumping record-breaking rain in a region that had not expected a serious blow and killing at least 45 people from Maryland to Connecticut. Eleven people in New York City drowned in basement apartments.

New Orleans fared better than many other places because it was protected from catastrophic flooding by the levee system that was revamped after Hurricane Katrina.

The power was back on before dawn in some downtown neighborhoods. Utility crews also restored electricity to several hospitals in Jefferson Parish and near Baton Rouge. Some streets were cleared of fallen trees and debris, and a few corner stores reopened.

The city’s main airport reopened to commercial flights for the first time since the hurricane.

Delta was first airline to return, to be followed Friday by United Airlines and later by other carriers, officials said.

The overwhelming majority of homes were still dark. In seven parishes, at least 95% of customers remained without power Thursday. Only 35,000 of the 405,000 homes and businesses in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish had power Thursday morning, according to the poweroutage.us website. Statewide, 917,000 customers were without electricity, down from about 1.1 million at the height of the seventh named storm to hit Louisiana since the summer of 2020.

“This isn’t our first rodeo, but it’s our worst rodeo,” Kirt LeBouef said as he wiped away tears while looking at damage to the Little Eagle restaurant in Golden Meadow, a 75-mile drive down a narrow highway from New Orleans toward the Gulf.

LeBouef’s family has owned the crawfish restaurant since 1920.

Power should be restored to most customers around Baton Rouge area by Sept. 8. after workers finish assessing damage, Entergy Louisiana President Philip May said Thursday. Damage assessments are not as far along in the harder-hit regions, so Entergy said it has no timetable for getting service to those areas, which include New Orleans.

Floodwaters slowly recede Wednesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Lafitte, La.

the associated press