This is the ravages caused by Ida in Louisiana 1:06
(CNN) -
Gulf Coast residents affected by Hurricane Ida have a long road to recovery ahead, and now some families are struggling to stock up on food and gas as supplies in the region dwindle.
In the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, Yolanda Teague told CNN's Brian Todd that her family is running out of enough to eat and drink.
Teague, along with her boyfriend, her eight children, and two of her children's friends are living in a couple of rooms in their four-bedroom home, "kidnapped" after the ceiling collapsed in the living room.
One of his sons has heart disease that makes overheating extremely dangerous for him.
Making sure he's safe is an immediate concern for Teague, as the state faces scorching heat and power outages, and the store he has access to has only been open long enough for his family to get a few drinks. .
In Plaquemines Parish, some 65 kilometers away, authorities reminded residents in a statement on Tuesday that there is no confirmed deadline for power restoration.
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These are the images of New Orleans after Ida 1:38
"Because of this - products like water, groceries, gasoline and medical supplies have been depleted and will not be readily available," the statement said.
More than 990,000 customers in Louisiana and nearly 30,000 in Mississippi were without power early Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.US.
Some districts have warned residents that power outages could last at least a month as the state recovers from tropical depression Ida, which made landfall Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane and contributed to at least five confirmed deaths.
With the heat looming, the lack of electricity could be life-threatening.
"Jefferson District President Cynthia Lee Sheng described the destruction of the area to CNN's Don Lemon, adding that residents who chose to weather the storm are preparing to get off the roads.
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All of New Orleans was completely blacked out by the storm, but Mayor Latoya Cantrell said there should be "some level of transmission" in the city by Wednesday night.
Regional energy provider Entergy announced two possible ways to do this: one restores transmission lines and the other creates a temporary "autonomous network" for the area.
But there is still a long way to go before most residents will have their power restored, and until then, many depend on gasoline generators.
Unfortunately, a large portion of gas stations in Louisiana cities are out of fuel after Hurricane Ida, according to outage figures compiled by GasBuddy.
In New Orleans, cars queued overnight at the few gas stations in the area that were open.
The governor "does not settle for 30 days" without electricity
The damage in Louisiana is extensive and the obstacles to recovering power are difficult, but authorities have their sights set on restoring power.
"I'm not satisfied with 30 days, the people at Entergy are not satisfied with 30 days, no one who needs power is satisfied with that," said Governor John Bel Edwards.
But Edwards said he is "aware that we just had the strongest hurricane, at least tied for the strongest, that the state has experienced and infrastructure has been damaged."
Damage assessments were carried out in the state on Monday and Tuesday, and when the power companies are done, they can begin to draw up a plan, he said.
These are the damages caused by New Orleans 2:14
On Tuesday, the city of New Orleans said there are several ways to restore power, but warned it will take time.
New Orleans' Deputy Director of Infrastructure, Ramsey Green, explained that to restore power, the city does not need the eight power lines that feed the city to be restored.
Green said Entergy is identifying how many of them it can get to work quickly.
"We can get the power to this city, but we may not be able to get it to your house immediately," Green said.
Hurricane Ida left more than a million people without power, possibly for weeks, and now the scorching heat is coming.
The outlook is brighter for many Mississippi residents affected by the storm.
Entergy communications specialist Mara Hartmann told CNN that power would be restored to customers along the I-20 corridor by the end of Tuesday and that, although most of the damage occurred in the Jackson metropolitan area and "especially" in southwestern Mississippi, the supply would be restored this Thursday.
Rescues continue in areas "flooded with water"
Entering the third day since Ida made landfall, authorities continue to carry out rescues from the deadly storm.
Ida has contributed to the deaths of five people, including a Jefferson Parish drowning confirmed Tuesday.
Hundreds of people have been rescued, but search and rescue teams have been unable to access some of the worst-hit areas, so it remains unclear how many residents could still be trapped by flooding or debris.
Water rescues continued Tuesday in the St. Tammany district, according to posts on the fire department's Facebook page.
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The St. Tammany Fire District said the Avery Estates area "continues to be flooded with water."
The photos show multiple rescuers loading at least one resident into a high-wheeler.
In Slidell, which is in St. Tammany, the police department warned residents Tuesday that supplies in the area are limited and "there is no relief in sight."
"We are not trying to be pessimistic, but this is the reality at this time," the Slidell Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Police urged residents who evacuated to stay away.
The future of Hurricane Ida
As the storm continues to move northward, more states are feeling - and preparing for - its impact.
After hitting the Gulf Coast on Sunday, Ida made its way into Tennessee, parts of which were still recovering from the devastating floods of a week ago.
Areas west of Nashville received 50 to 60 centimeters of rain from Ida, but suffered no major flooding.
Meanwhile, parts of North Carolina and West Virginia declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm heading their way.
"I have declared a state of emergency for all 55 West Virginia counties due to the growing threat of flash floods and severe storms from now tropical depression Ida," Gov. Jim Justice tweeted Tuesday.
"All West Virginia residents must be absolutely prepared for the potential impact Ida can bring to our state," Justice said.
"And please: do not endanger yourself, your loved ones or our first rescuers trying to drive through the floodwaters," he added.
In the Mid-Atlantic region, a tornado watch was in effect until 8 a.m. Wednesday for Washington, DC, Baltimore, portions of central and northern Maryland and northeastern Virginia, the National Weather Service said.
The main threat is tornadoes and isolated damaging wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour.
CNN's Michael Guy, Rebekah Riess, Keith Allen, Matt Egan, Amanda Watts, Claudia Domínguez, and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.
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