A lethal hurricane is approaching Louisiana. Exactly 16 years after the devastating hurricane “Katrina”, the New Orleans region is facing another catastrophe.
New Orleans – Life-threatening, catastrophic, a storm and floods of historic proportions: With these warnings, those responsible appeal urgently to residents of the US Gulf Coast to get to safety.
Hurricane “Ida” should hit the coast in the state of Louisiana on Sunday afternoon (local time) as an “extremely dangerous” cyclone, as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned. The state and the city of New Orleans would have to reckon with heavy rain, a “life-threatening storm surge”, catastrophic gusts of wind and long-lasting power outages.
Governor John Bel Edwards activated the National Guard with around 5000 soldiers for the hurricane. The civil protection agency flew aid and supplies into the region, the coast guard stationed numerous helicopters and boats for the upcoming rescue operation. All flights to New Orleans were canceled on Sunday. Thousands of fleeing residents of the coastal areas have been clogging the highways into the interior and neighboring states since Saturday. Edwards warned that “Ida” would be one of the strongest storms since 1850 when it hits Louisiana.
“Ida” is to hit land in Louisiana exactly 16 years after the arrival of the devastating hurricane “Katrina”. “Katrina” had caused catastrophic damage and floods in and around New Orleans. Around 1,800 people were killed at that time. Since then, however, billions have been invested in flood protection in the region. As a result, New Orleans is now better protected from flooding, but according to the latest forecasts, the city must also expect extremely destructive gusts of wind.
The forecasted strong winds, the massive rainfall and the storm surge in Louisiana are all considered in themselves “life threatening,” said the NHC director Ken Graham on Sunday the TV broadcaster CNN. A look at the radar images of the storm shows how “catastrophic it will be,” said Graham. “It will be a life-threatening situation,” he warned. Graham appealed to everyone in the region to get to safety.
On Sunday morning (local time) “Ida” gained further strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The storm developed into an “extremely dangerous hurricane,” as the NHC announced. The experts reported wind speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour. Such a storm usually triggers “catastrophic destruction”. “Ida” is also a strong level four hurricane, because the highest category starts at 252 kilometers per hour.
US President Joe Biden was briefed by the civil protection agency Fema about the storm. Fema has already brought 500 emergency services as well as 1.6 million liters of drinking water, a million meals and generators to the region, said the White House.
“Hurricane Ida poses a direct threat to the people of New Orleans,” warned Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Because of the rapidly approaching storm, there was no more time to order a compulsory evacuation of the entire city. She therefore only ordered the evacuation of particularly endangered areas that lie outside the dams. New Orleans is almost entirely surrounded by water – Lake Pontchartrain to the north, Lake Borgne to the east, and the wetlands along the Mississippi Estuary to the south. An urgent tornado warning has been in effect for New Orleans since Sunday.
On parts of the Louisiana coast, west of New Orleans, where the storm is to hit land, a “life-threatening” storm surge of almost five meters is to be expected, the NHC warned. At Lake Borgne, almost four meters can be expected, at Lake Pontchartrain a good two meters. Flood and tornado warnings were also issued in parts of the neighboring states to the east of Mississippi and Alabama because of the hurricane.
Governor Edwards said coastal hospitals could not be evacuated despite the hurricane because there were too many corona patients. Currently, 2,450 patients are being treated for Covid-19 in the state with 4.6 million inhabitants, he said. There is no longer any capacity in Louisiana and the neighboring states to accept additional patients. For the facilities, despite generators, long power outages as a result of the hurricane are a great danger. The state has mobilized around 10,000 workers to quickly restore power, said Edwards. Louisiana and the neighboring states are in the midst of a dramatic corona wave.
“Ida” should first weaken overland and move northeast to Mississippi and Tennessee on Monday. The cyclone hit western Cuba as a level one hurricane on Friday. According to reports from the state media, “Ida” caused power outages and damage there. dpa
