HOUSTON, Texas – Ida weakened Monday afternoon to a tropical depression after making landfall on the Louisiana coast on Sunday as one of the most powerful hurricanes in U.S. history, continuing north in the early morning hours of Tuesday, leaving heavy rain.
So far the death of four people has been confirmed; one of them, a 60-year-old man, who died from the impact of a tree that fell on a residence in Prairieville, a suburb of Baton Rouge, capital of Louisiana. Another victim may have drowned.
The whole city of New Orleans was without power on Sunday night due to the “catastrophic damage” caused by the cyclone and the number in the entire state exceeds one million customers affected by the blackouts. The situation worries the authorities due to the high rate of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in recent weeks.
Hundreds of thousands without power and the latent risk of flooding are only part of the disastrous advance of the hurricane, which made landfall as a Category 4.
Ida made landfall shortly before noon as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph, just on the same date as Katrina devastated and split the history of Louisiana and New Orleans 16 years ago.
The hurricane entered mainland Louisiana at Port Fourchon at 11:55 a.m., according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and is now moving over the southeast of the state as a Category 1 cyclone.
According to the NHC’s 5 am ET Tuesday bulletin, Ida had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and was located 145 miles north-northwest of Jackson, Mississippi and 185 miles southwest of Nashville, Tennessee.
The cyclone was moving northwest with a translation speed of 12 mph, increasing the risk of catastrophic flooding.
The impressive moment when the roof of the hospital flies off was captured on video.
Here you can follow the real-time report of customers without electricity service.
LOUISIANA GOVERNOR SPEAKS
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards gave a report on the situation in the state after the arrival of Hurricane Ida on Sunday.
He said the storm surge from the hurricane is not expected to exceed the levees that protect the New Orleans area, which were built after Katrina, in a message of reassurance for thousands of residents who feared flooding as Ida’s main nightmare. .
The governor noted that there are currently 1,542 people in shelters in the state.
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The state president said that “there is no doubt that the next days and weeks are going to be extremely difficult for many people in the state.”
Edwards added that the state was prepared for “this moment” and noted that there are currently no evacuations in state hospitals, right now that it is in the middle of the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ida could even spawn tornadoes Sunday and Monday in coastal states in the northern Gulf, including parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and northwest Florida.
WHAT PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID ABOUT IDA
This Sunday, President Joe Biden approved the declaration of staff to Louisiana and insisted that residents of the areas affected by Ida should take all precautions, since “the effects of the hurricane have not stopped.”
The president said that one of the federal government’s priorities will be to supply electric generators to those affected by power cuts, “as he warned that the cuts could last weeks for some.
“This is going to be a devastating hurricane,” said the president, who was notified of the aid operations by the directives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington DC
CURRENT NOTICES AND MONITORING
At the moment there are no notices, watches or warnings in force.
In 2020 of the 30 natural formations generated, 13 managed to become hurricanes, including six of the major category with winds from 69 miles per hour to 110 mph on average.
LOUISIANA PREPARED FOR IMPACT
Many of the residents of the Louisiana coast took advantage of Saturday to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Ida.
Lines at gas stations and car rental agencies increased as residents and tourists prepared for Saturday’s departure.
Cities and communities in the region have issued a series of voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders.
In New Orleans, the mayor, LaToya Cantrell, ordered the mandatory departure of those who were in areas outside the levee system that protect the city from flooding, and the voluntary removal of those who live inside the network.
Ramsey Green, the city’s top infrastructure official, emphasized that the levee and drainage systems that protect the city have greatly improved since Katrina.
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THIS IS THE SEASON IN THE ATLANTIC
The 2021 hurricane season in the Atlantic has its peak in August and September, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently updated its forecast for the remainder of the year.
The agency said another extremely active season could be seen with a total of 15 to 21 storms. Of these, between 7 to 10 would be hurricanes and at least 3 to 5 would be of great intensity.
These figures reflect that the hurricane season would be 65% more active than normal, said Matthew Rosecrans, a member of NOAA, in a webinar.
Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon shortly before noon.
The first storm formed early in May, before the official start of the season and was named Ana. It was followed by Bill, Claudette and Danny in June and Elsa arrived in July, which was the first hurricane of 2021 in the Atlantic. Later Fred was formed, the seventh on the list is Grace and the eighth was Henri. After Ida’s formation, Julian and Kate were formed.
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