8/28/2021- 9:00 a.m.
New Orleans – The surrounding coastal region slamming Cuba twice in fewer than 24 hours, Hurricane Ida is expected to pummel Louisiana on Sunday, urging evacuations.
On Saturday morning, Ida was moving away from Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 24 to 36 hours prior to landfall across the Louisiana coast on Sunday afternoon or evening.
Officials implored people to evacuate, with some issuing mandatory orders to do so.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a mandatory evacuation of all city areas that are outside its flood protection system, and urged other residents to evacuate voluntarily or shelter in place.
“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday,” National Hurricane Center forecasters said Saturday morning. At 5 a.m. ET, the storm sustained winds of 80 mph.
A dangerous storm surge of 10 to 15 feet is expected from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the mouth of the Mississippi River on Sunday as Ida makes landfall, the NHC said.
“We do not want to have people on the road, and therefore, in greater danger because of the lack of time.”
The city is anticipating impacts from damaging winds of up to 110 mph, according to Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
In Louisiana, a hurricane watch is in effect from Cameron to west of Intracoastal City and the mouth of the Pearl River to the Mississippi-Alabama border. Tropical storm warnings and watches are also issued stretching east to the Alabama-Florida border.
Rainfall can amount to 8 to 16 inches, with isolated maximum totals of 20 inches possible across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi through Monday– which will likely lead to significant flash and river flooding impacts.
Please everybody stay safe if you’re in the area evacuated if needed!
