“Time to act now,” New Orleans NWS writes. on Twitter. Ida can cause flash floods along large coastal areas, and those in danger are urged to evacuate on Saturday.
“People are packing up and leaving now,” Grand Isle Police Chief Scooter Risweiber told local media.
– We know this is going to be big.
Ida has already overtaken Cuba, but then as a more modest category, the lowest on the five-point Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. With the storm now passing through open waters again in the Gulf of Mexico, it will gain new strength, and according to the NWS it is expected to be in Category 4 when it reaches the US mainland Sunday night local time.
– The storm is heading straight towards us, Gordon Duff says, a local leader in Terrebonne, southwest New Orleans.
Terrebonne is one area that has issued mandatory eviction orders.
Work on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico has been suspended. The station was reportedly larger than it was for Hurricane Katrina.
Katrina was in the third category when he touched down in Louisiana on August 29, 2005. Massive amounts of water poured into the New Orleans area, and inadequate flood preparations contributed to submerging 80 percent of the city.
More than 1,800 people were killed in Louisiana, and the material damage was so great that Hurricane Katrina was ranked as the most expensive tropical storm to date in all categories.
Experts warn that human burning of fossil fuels will lead to climate change that will make such storms stronger and more powerful.
Ida as a Category 1 hurricane withdrew over Cuba overnight through Saturday. Photo: NOAA via AP/TT
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