Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall in Louisiana

Hurricane Ida moved north over Southeastern Louisiana yesterday , finally weakening to a still dangerous 125 mph Category 3 storm seven hours after it made landfall. As of 8 p.m. ET, the storm was moving over Mathews, Louisiana, and moving slowly north through the state at 10 mph.

The storm made landfall at 12:55 p.m. ET as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds at Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center warned throughout the day about catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding in southeastern Louisiana.

In a visit to FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden said his administration has prepared resources, including equipment and response teams, that will be needed after Hurricane Ida passes.

“This is going to be a devastating, devastating hurricane,” the president said.

Although the center of the storm on Sunday night remained 45 miles southwest of New Orleans, the city was already feeling the effects, including widespread power outages. New Orleans Lakefront Airport reported sustained wind of 58 mph, and a roof had already blown off a building in the French Quarter.

The storm hit Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. New Orleans officials insisted the city’s levees system, which had failed during Katrina and flooded the city, had been fortified since then.

All of Orleans Parish, including the City of New Orleans, will remain in the dark last night as crews continue to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Ida, regional energy provider Entergy said in a statement.

All eight transmission lines that deliver power into the city are out of service at this hour, according to Entergy.

This triggered “a load imbalance in the area and resulted in generation in the area coming offline,” the energy provider said.

Entergy has provided back-up generation to the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board but cautioned that power to the city will not be restored Sunday night.