Hurricane Ida - live Thousands flee as extremely dangerous category 4 storm makes landfall in 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 1630271952National Weather Service issues flash flood warning for New Orleans

The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for New Orleans and its surrounding areas, effective until 10pm tonight.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 22:191630271715Video shows devastation in French Quarter, New Orleans

Shocking video footage shows the damage Hurricane Ida has already done to the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 22:151630270815Louisiana power outages have now surpassed 400,000

Over 400,000 people in Louisiana have now lost their electricity due to Hurricane Ida, according to data from Entergy, a utility company in the state.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 22:001630269915Video shows furious winds in Houma, Louisiana

Shocking video footage shows powerful winds in Houma, Louisiana, not far from Port Fourchon, where Hurricane Ida made landfall. Ida’s winds have reached up to 150mph.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 21:451630269033Louisiana governor asks residents to shelter in place for 72 hours after storm has passed

Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards has asked residents in Ida’s path to shelter in place not just for the storm’s duration, but for up to 72 hours afterward.

“Once the storm has passed, you need to be prepared to shelter in place for the first 72 hours,” Mr Edwards said at a press conference. “We have every possible resource ready to go to help you.”

The governor said even after the storm passes, going outside may still be dangerous due to downed power lines, debris, and other dangers.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 21:301630267757‘We shouldn’t kid ourselves’: Biden holds press conference on ‘life-threatening’ hurricane

President Biden held a press conference on Sunday regarding Hurricane Ida, warning Americans to “take it seriously.”

“The storm is a life-threatening storm,” the president said. “And its devastation is likely to be immense. We shouldn’t kid ourselves. And so the most important thing I can say right now is that everyone, everyone should listen to the instructions from local and state officials, just how dangerous this is. And take it seriously.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 21:091630267215Baton Rouge hospital may have to put Covid beds in hallways if Ida brings new patients

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is already filled to capacity due to Covid-19, and may need to care for patients in hallways if Hurricane Ida brings in new ones, CNN reports.

“This hospital is ready to sustain quite a bit of damage, ready to sustain quite a bit of power outages... What we don't have is space and what we don't have are health care workers because of Covid,” the hospital’s chief medical officer, Katherine O’Neal, told CNN. “We have 619 people in-house today. We have 157 Covid patients, which is just unbelievable and still higher than we've ever seen in this pandemic before.”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 21:001630266315Footage shows Louisiana fire station flooded in just one hour

Video footage shows the dramatic flooding of a fire station in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana over just one hour.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 20:451630265415More than 300,000 people in Louisiana are now without power

The number of people without electricity in Louisiana has skyrocketed up to 301,965, according to poweroutage.us.

Only about an hour ago, that number was at approximately 105,000.

Nathan Place29 August 2021 20:301630264515Horrifying video shows man wading out into storm surge

The National Weather Service has retweeted a video of a man deliberately walking into a storm surge, and emphatically warned others not to do the same.

“Absolutely DO NOT go into Storm Surge,” NWS New Orleans tweeted. “This is an extremely dangerous and LIFE-THREATENING situation and this man is putting his life in imminent danger. Stay inside, hunker down in an interior room or closet or bathroom and STAY PUT!”

Nathan Place29 August 2021 20:15

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