Hurricane Ida - live Thousands flee as extremely dangerous category 4 storm bears down on Louisiana

Related video: ‘Be prepared’ for ‘very dangerous’ storm, warns Biden

Hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall in the United States on Sunday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm that could bring a life-threatening storm surge, potentially catastrophic wind damage and flooding rainfall, officials have warned.

The weather system threatens to plunge much of the Louisiana shoreline under water, having intensified faster than experts had predicted on Saturday. Residents of the Gulf Coast have been evacuating their homes and businesses have been shut down.

Early on Sunday Ida was a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the National Hurricane Center said. At 4 am CDT (9 am GMT) it was located about 75 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with top sustained winds of 140 mph.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said on Saturday that the storm could be the state’s worst direct hit by a hurricane since the 1850s.

Show latest update 1630246832Authorities tell New Orleans residents to ‘shelter in place immediately'

In a post retweeted by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards, the National Weather Service has warned all New Orleans residents to shelter in place “immediately.”

“If you are not in shelter, shelter in place immediately,” National Weather Service New Orleans tweeted. “Go to an interior room or a small room with no windows. Stay put during this time.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 15:201630245892Ida may cause tornadoes, National Weather Service predicts

Hurricane Ida may cause tornadoes and supercells after it makes landfall, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

“Hurricane Ida will make landfall later this morning in SE Louisiana, and continue moving northwestward and inland through the afternoon,” the Center said in a tweet. “The threat for supercells and a few tornadoes will increase today in the outer convective bands to the northeast and east of the center of Ida.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 15:041630244563Flooding has started in Mississippi, local reports say

Roads have already started getting flooded in Mississippi, according to local reports.

In one Twitter video, posted by McClatchy reporter Justin Mitchell, two cars can be seen driving through deep water on Highway 90 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“Two cars have already gotten stuck at Hwy 90 and Miramar [in] Biloxi as water has already taken over the roadway,” Mr Mitchell tweeted. “Ida is powerful, major hurricane and approaching landfall.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 14:421630243870National Weather Service says it ‘can’t bear’ to see Ida’s current path

As it tracks Hurricane Ida’s progress via satellite images, the National Weather Service New Orleans says it can’t bear what it’s seeing.

“As meteorologists at the National Weather Service Slidell office, we can't bear to see this on satellite,” the organization said in a tweet. “We have hard times ahead, but we will all persevere. Take all messages we, public officials and broadcast media are saying SERIOUSLY. Stay tuned for more frequent updates.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 14:311630243311Ida to hit 'absolute worst place for a hurricane’

Meteorologist Jeff Masters, who flew hurricane missions for the government and founded Weather Underground, said Ida is forecast to move through “the just absolute worst place for a hurricane”.

The Interstate 10 corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is a critical hub of the nation’s petrochemical industry, lined with oil refineries, natural gas terminals and chemical manufacturing plants.

A US Energy Department map of oil and gas infrastructure shows scores of low-lying sites in the storm’s projected path that are listed as potentially vulnerable to flooding.

A tropical storm warning has also been extended to the Alabama-Florida border.

Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 14:211630242291Ida draws comparisons with Katrina

Comparisons to the 29 August 2005 landfall of Hurricane Katrina have been weighing heavily on residents bracing for Ida.

A Category 3 storm, Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths as it demolished oceanfront homes in Mississippi and caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans.

In Saucier, Mississippi, Alex and Angela Bennett spent Saturday afternoon filling sand bags to place around their flood-prone home.

Both survived Katrina, and did not expect Ida to cause nearly as much destruction where they live, based on forecasts.

“Katrina was terrible. This ain’t gonna be nothing,” Alex Bennett said.

“I hate it for Louisiana, but I’m happy for us.”

Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 14:041630241511Power cuts expected as storm sweeps through

Utilities companies are bringing in extra crews and equipment to deal with expected power losses from the storm.

Joe Biden said he has coordinated with electric utilities and 500 federal emergency response workers were in Texas and Louisiana to respond to Ida.

US energy companies have reduced offshore oil production by 91 per cent and gasoline refiners cut operations at Louisiana plants in the path of the storm. Regional fuel prices have risen in anticipation of production losses and on increased demand due to evacuations.

Coastal and inland oil refineries have also cut production due to the storm. Phillips 66 shut its Alliance plant on the coast in Belle Chasse, while Exxon Mobil Corp cut production at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery on Saturday.

Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 13:511630240491Homes and businesses board up as streets empty

People walk down Canal Street past a boarded up CVS Pharmacy in New Orleans

(AFP via Getty Images)

Jean-Luc Bourg, 8, his sister Olivia, 10, and parents Jean Paul and Christina have boarded up their property in preparation for Hurricane Ida in Morgan City, Louisiana

Men place plywood in front of a store in preparation for Hurricane Ida, in New Orleans

Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 13:341630239471Thousands flee approaching storm

People stand in line to get through the security checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

(Getty Images)

Traffic moves bumper to bumper along I-10 west as residents arrive into Texas from the Louisiana border ahead of Hurricane Ida in Orange, Texas

Heavy traffic clogs Interstate 10 out of New Orleans as residents and visitors evacuate

Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 13:171630238691Ida landfall expected around lunchtime Tom Batchelor29 August 2021 13:04

Share this post