While we have sunny skies here in Toronto, the Labour Day long weekend is still far from normal for hundreds of thousands of people in the Gulf Coast Region.

Days after Hurricane Isaac swept through, nearly 400,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana still don’t have electricity.

Meanwhile, parts of a coastal area south of New Orleans remain mostly under water.

One man near Baton Rouge said he is still waiting to get home and survey the damage.

“Today, we’re watching the water go down and trying to get back in and salvage whatever we can,” he said.
    
Offshore oil and gas production in the gulf remains almost completely shut down. Crews started returning to the offshore rigs Friday, with nearly half of the 700 rigs now staffed again.

They’ll have to inspect for damage and restart equipment slowly however, a process the companies say will take days.

Meanwhile, forecasters are now keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Leslie. The storm is still far out in the Atlantic but experts say it is gaining strength and has the potential to develop into a hurricane.