Hurricane Ida rapidly identifies to a category 4 just ahead of landfall in Lousiana. The hurricane is rapidly moving to a dangerous state as people grapple for shelter despite the risk of the pandemic. Read to know the latest updates.
Hurricane Ida rivals that of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Ida is expected to make landfall shortly, exactly 16 years after the devastation of Hurrican Katrina.“They are extremely confident in the current track and the intensity as forecasted for Hurricane Ida, and you really don’t hear them speaking very often about that level of confidence,” said Lousiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. Edwards is actively warning residents of the state in Ida’s path to take the threat seriously since the ‘window of time is closing’. Meteorologists expect the hurricane to be historically massive since the 1850s. Benjamin Schott, the meteorologist from the National Weather Service alerted that the people of Ida will be in a life-altering situation if they are not prepared.
“This will be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s,” he added.“By the time you go to bed tonight, you need to be where you intend to ride the storm out and you need to be as prepared as you can be because the weather will start to deteriorate very quickly tomorrow,” added the governor.
Current updates of the devastating phenomenon
As the situation back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, New Orleans is in Ida’s path again. The storm will hit a category 4 storm as it heads over towards West Virginia and curves over Mississippi. In the past, Katrina hit Category 3. It made landfall along the Gulf coast and caused over 1,800 deaths and damages over $100 billion.
Louisiana officials are already working towards finding shelter for as many evacuees as possible. “So, we know how to do this. I hope and pray we don’t have to do it anywhere near that extent,” added Edwards.
