Hurricane Ida Winds Hit 150 mph Ahead of Louisiana Strike

August 29, 2021by Kevin McGill and Jay Reeves, Associated Press
Hurricane Ida Winds Hit 150 mph Ahead of Louisiana Strike
Interstate 10 near Slidell, La., is packed with evacuees heading east Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, as Hurricane Ida approaches. (Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida rapidly grew in strength early Sunday, becoming a dangerous Category 4 hurricane just hours before hitting the Louisiana coast while emergency officials in the region grappled with opening shelters for displaced evacuees despite the risks of spreading the coronavirus.

As Ida moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mexico, its top winds grew by 45 mph (72 kph) to 150 mph (230 kph) in five hours. The system was expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon, set to arrive on the exact date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier.

Ida threatened a region already reeling from a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant.

New Orleans hospitals planned to ride out the storm with their beds nearly full, as similarly stressed hospitals elsewhere had little room for evacuated patients. And shelters for those fleeing their homes carried an added risk of becoming flashpoints for new infections.

On Grand Isle, where Ida appeared to be heading for landfall, the ocean steadily rose as increasingly bigger waves churned Sunday morning.

In New Orleans, where the worst weather is expected later, a light rain fell. Cars were parked on the median, which locals call neutral ground in New Orleans, because its a few feet higher and can protect against potential flooding.

Ida intensified so swiftly that New Orleans officials said there was no time to organize a mandatory evacuation of its 390,000 residents. Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents to leave voluntarily. Those who stayed were warned to prepare for long power outages amid sweltering heat.

Nick Mosca was walking his dog, like most of those who were out.

“I’d like to be better prepared. There’s a few things I’m thinking we could have done. But this storm came pretty quick, so you only have the time you have,” Mosca said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards vowed Saturday that Louisiana’s “resilient and tough people” would weather the storm. He also noted shelters would operate with reduced capacities “to reflect the realities of COVID.”

Edwards said Louisiana officials were already working to find hotel rooms for many evacuees so that fewer had to stay in mass shelters. He noted that during last year’s hurricane season, Louisiana found rooms for 20,000 people.

“So, we know how to do this,” Edwards said. “I hope and pray we don’t have to do it anywhere near that extent.”

In coastal Gulfport, Mississippi, a Red Cross shelter posted signs displaying directions for evacuees along with warnings about COVID-19. With skies still sunny, only a handful of people had shown up Saturday evening.

Shelter manager Barbara Casterlin said workers were required to wear face masks. Evacuees were encouraged to do the same. Anyone who refuses will be sent to an isolated area, she said, and so will people who are sick.

“We’re not checking vaccinations,” Casterlin said, “but we are doing temperature checks two or three times a day.”

President Joe Biden approved emergency declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi ahead of Ida’s arrival.

Comparisons to the Aug. 29, 2005, landfall of Katrina weighed heavily on residents bracing for Ida. A Category 3 storm, Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths as it demolished oceanfront homes in Mississippi and caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans.

Officials stressed that the levee and drainage systems protecting the city had been much improved since Katrina. But they cautioned flooding was still possible with up to 24 inches (61 centimeters) of rain forecast in some areas.

Edwards said 5,000 National Guard troops were being staged in 14 Louisiana parishes for search and rescue efforts. And 10,000 linemen were on standby to respond to electrical outages.

Ida posed a threat far beyond New Orleans. A hurricane warning was issued for nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) of Louisiana’s coastline, from Intracoastal City south of Lafayette to the Mississippi state line. A tropical storm warning was extended to the Alabama-Florida line.

Meteorologist Jeff Masters, who flew hurricane missions for the government and founded Weather Underground, said Ida is forecast to move through “the just absolute worst place for a hurricane.”

The Interstate 10 corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is a critical hub of the nation’s petrochemical industry, lined with oil refineries, natural gas terminals and chemical manufacturing plants. Entergy, Louisiana’s major electricity provider, operates two nuclear power plants along the Mississippi River.

A U.S. Energy Department map of oil and gas infrastructure shows scores of low-lying sites in the storm’s projected path that are listed as potentially vulnerable to flooding.


Reeves reported from Gulfport, Mississippi. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana, Stacey Plaisance and Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans; Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland; Frank Bajak in Boston; and Michael Biesecker in Washington.

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Weather

Storm Carrying Massive 'Gorilla Hail' Hits Parts of Kansas and Missouri

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to... Read More

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70, as storms unleashed possible tornadoes and meteorologists urged residents to stay indoors. There were three unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Wabaunsee... Read More

More Mountain Snow Expected as Powerful Blizzard Moves Out of Northern California

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — A powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts had mostly moved through the Sierra Nevada by early... Read More

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — A powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts had mostly moved through the Sierra Nevada by early Monday but forecasters warned that more snow was on the way for Northern California mountains. Sections of Interstate 80 to the west and north of Lake... Read More

John Kerry Reflects on Time as Top US Climate Negotiator

WASHINGTON (AP) — Time was running out and U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry knew it. International climate talks in mid-December... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Time was running out and U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry knew it. International climate talks in mid-December were stuck with no agreement to phase out oil, gas and coal, fossil fuels that are the root cause of global warming. The United Nations sponsored... Read More

Blizzard Warning of up to 10 Feet of Snow in the Sierra Could Make Travel 'Dangerous to Impossible'

A Pacific storm packing powerful winds and heavy snow is shaping up to be the strongest of the season, forecasters... Read More

A Pacific storm packing powerful winds and heavy snow is shaping up to be the strongest of the season, forecasters say, as it pushes toward California with potential blizzard conditions in the Sierra and up to 10 feet (3 meters) of snow in the mountains around Lake Tahoe... Read More

Wildfire Grows Into Second-Largest in Texas History

A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and... Read More

A fast-moving wildfire burning through the Texas Panhandle grew into the second-largest blaze in state history Wednesday, forcing evacuations and triggering power outages as firefighters struggled to contain the widening flames. The sprawling blaze was part of a cluster of fires that burned out of control... Read More

Winter Storm Hits Northeast, Causing Difficult Driving, Closed Schools and Canceled Flights

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Parts of the Northeast were hit Tuesday by a snowstorm that canceled flights and schools and... Read More

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Parts of the Northeast were hit Tuesday by a snowstorm that canceled flights and schools and prompted warnings for people to stay off the roads, while some areas that anticipated heavy snow were getting less than that as the weather pattern changed. More... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top