How the #OpenNOLA campaign is helping Louisiana residents after Hurricane Ida

In the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Ida, many parts of southeastern Louisiana are just barely starting to recover.

Making landfall as a near-Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph, Ida began inching towards the New Orleans area, coming closer than originally predicted. In the end, New Orleans and surrounding areas experienced a complete power blackout as Hurricane Ida destroyed all eight transmission lines feeding power into the city.

As a result of the devastation, some parts of the New Orleans area still have no power two weeks after the storm made landfall. Areas just to the west of New Orleans, such as Destrehan, Norco, and especially LaPlace have even larger areas that are still without power.

Originally created by local news station WWLTV, the #OpenNola hashtag started out in a news article containing a list of businesses that began opening to the public following the storm — many of which are essential, such as grocery stores and gas stations.

Here at IML Company, we decided to help out our neighbors and take the #OpenNOLA campaign to the next level. By creating a brand new, interactive website named after the campaign, we give visitors the option fill out a simple form and submit open businesses to add to our interactive map. Our goal for this website is simple: to give the residents of southeastern Louisiana a quick and easy way to add or view all known open businesses in the area, so that everyone affected by Hurricane Ida knows where to find essentials such as food, water, and gas.

To visit the #OpenNOLA website, go to: https://opennola.info/ and simply click “Add Business” if you have a submission.