16 years after Katrina, New Orleans braces for ‘hurricane of the century’
HURRICANE Ida hit Louisiana last night on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, with officials warning it was ‘unsurvivable’.
Tens of thousands of residents fled the state as Ida was reclassified upwards to a category 4 hurricane – one below the highest level – with sustained winds of 150mph and a storm surge of up to 16ft.
Ida made landfall in Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico and state governor John Bel
Edwards said it could be the strongest storm to hit the state ‘since at least the 1850s’. Forecasters said it would bring more rain and winds than Katrina in 2005, which devastated much of New Orleans leaving 1,800 dead.
Hospitals, which are already struggling with Covid patients, were preparing for casualties and blackouts. Parts of Alabama, Louisiana and Florida were put on tornado alert and the National Weather Service warned there is ‘a very significant threat of casualties’.
Officials said over the weekend that the hurricane will be ‘unsurvivable’ and ‘to get out’. But all flights out of New Orleans airport were cancelled and major roads were packed as many residents fled – although a number defied the warnings and stayed put.