Hurricane Ida, some of the highly effective storms ever to threaten the U.S. shoreline, introduced harmful storm surge and highly effective winds to southern Louisiana on Sunday, testing a $14 billion system of levees round New Orleans on the sixteenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic landfall.
The forecast from the Nationwide Hurricane Middle at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT native time) confirmed Ida boasting 150 mph sustained most winds — making it a higher-end Class 4 “main” hurricane — because it closed inside 60 miles of the mouth of the Mississippi River, shifting 13 mph. The storm made landfall close to Port Fourchon at round 11:55 a.m. native time, the company mentioned in a follow-up tweet.
“In case you are in Hurricane #Ida ’s path, your solely job proper now could be to remain safely in place. Discover the most secure place in your home, trip out the storm and keep there till the storm passes,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards mentioned in a tweet .
67-YEAR-OLD AL ROKER BRAVES LASHING WAVES FOR HURRICANE IDA FORECAST AND TELLS DOUBTERS ‘SCREW YOU’
The consequences of the storm have already been felt for hours earlier than landfall, and officers inspired individuals who had not evacuated to shelter in place. Though a lot of the eye is positioned on the middle of the hurricane, forecasters warn that locations stretching out for a lot of miles, together with inland, are underneath risk from heavy rainfall, flooding, and robust winds. Widespread energy outages are already being reported, and the lights could not come again on for days, if not weeks, in some locations.
Storm surge may get as excessive as 16 toes in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Mississippi River, in accordance with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle, and attain double-digit heights in different places close by.
09:05 am: Hurricane #Ida remains to be off the LA coast. In case you are not in shelter, shelter in place instantly. Go to an inside room or a small room with no home windows. Keep put durning this time. #lawx #mswx pic.twitter.com/k2QQlErNin
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) August 29, 2021
Rainfall is anticipated to achieve 10 to 18 inches, and a few remoted areas may accumulate as a lot as 24 inches throughout southeast Louisiana into far southern Mississippi by way of Monday, the company mentioned.
After Katrina devastated New Orleans and the encircling space in 2005, inflicting greater than 1,800 deaths and $100 billion in injury, a system of pumps, floodwalls, and levees was rebuilt. Levees could also be over-topped as Ida hits, and localized flooding is feasible, however officers have expressed confidence that the system will maintain and is vastly extra able to lowering the specter of storm surge.
“It is a very otherwise protected metropolis than it was 16 years in the past,” mentioned Ramsey Inexperienced, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, in accordance with NOLA.com .
🌀🌊 GULFPORT, MS — Parts of Jones Park and the Port of Gulfport are underwater as storm surge from Hurricane #Ida continues to push onshore. Elements of U.S. 90 are impassable. pic.twitter.com/rk4vSJQlZK
— Brantly Keiek (@BrantlyWx) August 29, 2021
President Joe Biden accredited emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi, unlocking federal sources to help native officers with the response to the storm. The Federal Emergency Administration Company has deployed 1000’s of individuals throughout the Gulf Coast area.
Following landfall, Ida is forecast to weaken rapidly and transfer throughout the Center Tennessee Valley and Higher Ohio Valley all through the week.
