NEW ORLEANS (AP), Hurricane Ida roared ashore Sunday. It was one of the strongest storms to ever hit the United States. It rushed from Louisiana's coast towards New Orleans, one of the nation's most important industrial corridors.
Category 4 storm, with winds of 150 mph and 230 kph, struck on the same day Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi 16 year earlier. It landed about 45 miles (72 km) west of where Category 3 Katrina first struck.
As the rising ocean flooded Grand Isle, landfall was made just to the west at Port Fourchon. Two hours later, Ida made another landfall near Galliano. The hurricane was moving through the far southern Louisiana wetlands, with more than 2,000,000 people living in or around New Orleans and Baton Rouge next.
This storm is different from what we usually get. This storm will be stronger than what we are used to seeing. And, frankly, this would be very similar to what Gov. According to John Bel Edwards, The Associated Press.
Louisiana residents woke up to a storm as Idas' top winds increased by 45 mph (72 kmph) in just five hours. The hurricane was moving through the northern Gulf of Mexico, which is some of the most warm ocean waters in the world.
Before noon Sunday, wind ripped through awnings and water poured out of Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans. Officials stated that Ida's rapid intensification from a few storms to a major hurricane in three days meant there was no time for mandatory evacuations of 390,000. Mayor LaToya Catrell advised residents to evacuate voluntarily. Residents who remained were advised to be prepared for power outages in the sweltering heat.
Now is the right time. Follow all warnings. You should ensure that you have shelter. Cantrell said that you should hunker down.
Nick Mosca was out walking his dog Sunday morning just before the storm struck. He said that he would have liked to be better prepared. Mosca explained that this storm was quite quick and that you can only do what you can.
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It was the fifth strongest hurricane to hit the US mainland with 150 mph winds.
These winds swept through Port Fourchon where boats and helicopters gathered to transport workers and supplies to offshore oil platforms. The oil is then extracted and begins its journey to refineries. Officials claim that the port handles around a fifth of the country's oil and gas.
Edwards stated that he saw a live feed from the port as Ida arrived ashore.
Storm surge is quite powerful. Edwards said that we can see how the roofs have been blown off the port buildings in many locations.
Ida, along with the oil industry was a threat to a region already suffering from a resurgence in COVID-19 infection due to low vaccination rates, and the highly contagious Delta variant.
New Orleans hospitals were prepared to weather the storm, with their beds almost full. Other hospitals had limited space for evacuated patients. Shelters for people fleeing their homes ran the risk of becoming infected flashpoints.
Forecasters predicted winds of up to 115 mph (185 km/h) in Houma. This city of 33,000 supports oil platforms in Gulf.
Gulfport, Mississippi was east of New Orleans and was experiencing heavy rain bands and ocean rise. The empty lots left behind by Katrina were still quite common in coastal Mississippi. Claudette Jones fled her Gulfport home as the waves began to pound the shore.
She said that she prayed for me to be able to return home to the same normal home as I left. I pray for that. I'm not certain at the moment.
Residents bracing for Ida felt heavy after Katrina's Aug. 29, 2005 landfall. Katrina caused 1,800 deaths and severe flooding in New Orleans. It also destroyed homes on the Mississippi coast. Idas hurricane-force winds extended 50 miles (80 km) from Katrina's eye.
Ramsey Green, New Orleans infrastructure manager, stressed before the worst that the city is now in a different place when it comes to storm surge protection than it was 16-years ago.
The levee system has been extensively rebuilt since Katrina and water should not enter it. Green stated that if rain forecasts of up 20 inches (50 cm) come true, the city's neglected and underfunded network of pumps, underground pipes, and surface canals will likely be unable to keep up.
He said that it is a fragile system.
According to PowerOutage.US which tracks outages across the country, around 350,000 customers were without power by Sunday afternoon.
According to Jeff Masters, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunter meteorologist and founding member of Weather Underground, the region that is hit by Ida's worst might see its infrastructure destroyed.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the state's 17 oil refineries account almost for one-fifth the nation's refining capacity. Its two liquefied natural gases export terminals export about 55% of the nation's total exports. Louisiana also has two nuclear power plants. One is located near New Orleans, and the other is located about 27 miles (about 43 km) northwest of Baton Rouge.
The Interstate 10 corridor connecting New Orleans to Baton Rouge is a vital hub for the nation's petrochemical industry. It is lined with oil refineries and natural gas terminals, as well as chemical manufacturing plants. Entergy is Louisiana's largest electricity provider and operates two nuclear power stations along the Mississippi River.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was in close contact with over 1,500 oil refineries, chemical plant, and other sensitive facilities. It will respond to any pollution leaks or petroleum spillages, Greg Langley, an agency spokesperson, said. He stated that the agency would deploy three mobile laboratory air-monitoring labs after the storm passes to analyze, report, and sample any threat to public health.
President Joe Biden approved the emergency declarations of Louisiana and Mississippi in advance of Idas' arrival. Biden stated Sunday that the nation was praying for Louisiana's safety and prepared for the worst.
Biden stated that the nation would put its full force behind recovery and rescue efforts as soon as the storm passes.
Edwards warned the state that they would need to recover from the storm within days or even weeks.
We can only imagine the challenges facing many, many people. The governor said that we are more prepared than ever as a state.
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Reeves reported in Gulfport, Mississippi. This report was contributed by Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina.
