Logo

Hurricane Ida: Will hit US by Sunday; Louisiana preparing for direct hit

by News Desk August 27, 2021

Update: Ida turns into Category 3 after making landfall.

Update: Some areas to get over 15ft of water surge.

Hurricane Ida – Experimental peak storm surge forecast by the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center

Update: Ida is sustaining winds of at least 150mph, showing no signs of slowing.

Breaking: Ida is approx. 6mph away from turning into a Category 5 storm.

Update: People have been asked to stock up supplies for at least 3 days.

Update: Schools closed; flights cancelled.

Breaking: Ida unlike Katrina is getting stronger as time progresses. Katrina got weaker with time but Ida is doing the exact opposite. A Category 5 would be catastrophic, crossing winds over 150mph.

Update: Thousands have fled Louisiana.

Update: New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says they don’t have enough time to evacuate before Ida makes landfall.

Hurricane Ida will be Category 3 Category 4 by the time it reaches the US coast and New Orleans residents are being urged to leave the neighborhoods that are outside the city’s levee system as they may be susceptible to worst flooding along the heavy winds and rain.

Ida will pass Cuba as a Category 1 storm, pelting the Western part of the island nation with winds and rainfall. This time of the year brings high tides and with Hurricane Ida on its way, experts are worried it may break through the levee system and enter the city of New Orleans that will also mark the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina which killed about 2,000 people and flooded close to 90% of the city.

  • Hurricane Ida's probable path
    Hurricane Ida’s probable path according to the Hurricane Ida, National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center
  • Hurricane Ida - hurricane wind speed probabilities
    Hurricane Ida – Hurricane wind speed probabilities according to the Hurricane Ida’s probable path according to the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center
  • Hurricane Ida - Tropical storm wind speed probabilities
    Hurricane Ida – Tropical storm wind speed probabilities according to the Hurricane Ida’s probable path according to the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center
  • Hurricane Ida
    Hurricane Ida – Marine Graphical Composite Forecast Map for Gulf of Mexico Offshore Waters according to the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center

Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency and has urged residents living along the coastline to take shelter from Saturday evening. The Biden Administration is also developing emergency plans to help the people that may be stuck or require emergency food aid.

The city of New Orleans is also issuing a mandatory evacuation for “areas outside the levees and voluntary evacuation for the rest of the parish,” said the New Orleans emergency preparedness campaign in a tweet.

Ida is expected to bring extremely dangerous winds that could reach 140mph and heavy rainfall. It is also expected to bring an 11ft surge of water in the areas outside the levees.

Advisories similar to the one for New Orleans have been issued for various other coastal areas in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Communities near the Mississippi river were asked to be part of the mandatory evacuations that started at 3PM today, and also those communities living in low-lying areas.

Residents throughout the coastal areas have been stocking up supplies while those where evacuations were declared mandatory have started to move to safe shelters.