NEW ORLEANS — We're seeing the first glance of the region bruised black and blue by Hurricane Ida.
We found Ken Kitchell in his busted car charging his phone after a tree fell on the vehicle and dented its left corner.
"'[Expletive]! Thank God it's a rental and not my Mercedes.' Those were the first words out of my mouth," Kitchell said. "I think I can just leave the car running and the phone charging because I don't think anyone's going to steal the car."
Fallen trees lined the road in Jackson Square, including a massive magnolia tree. High winds peeled off a roof in the French Quarter. In downtown New Orleans, three buildings on South Rampart Street sustained serious damage. Luckily, nobody was inside, and nobody was hurt.
There was no stopping Hurricane Ida.
Power poles are down, power lines are in disarray. The power is still out, and so are people. It's too hot to stay inside. The one store with a generator has a line out the door. Gas, food and power are in very limited supply.
Stephanie's car isn't going anywhere, either. It's sitting underneath a pile of bricks next to a storefront. Thankfully, she and her young son were not inside. But they easily could have been.
"A tragedy. That was my baby right there. That was my car," Stephanie said.
A day in, and people are at their limit.
Speaking of limits, floodwaters continue to rise in LaPlace and places like Reserve.
The Hymels bought kayaks years ago for their kids. Now, they're using the boats as transportation in Reserve.
"It was pretty bad, it was traumatic last night," Randy Hymel said. "You just didn't know-- it seemed like it just got worse and worse."
We are still very much in rescue and not yet recovery. Ida has moved on, leaving communities here hanging by a thread.