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Hurricane »Ida« in Cuba
Photo: Ramon Espinosa / dpa
The US is expecting the first severe hurricane of the year: The state of Louisiana has been in a state of emergency since Friday.
The authorities called on people to get to safety.
According to the NHC weather service, "Ida" is likely to hit land there as a particularly high category 4 hurricane - almost 16 years to the day after the devastation caused by "Katrina".
The Meteorological Service also warned the coastal areas of Mississippi and Alabama of heavy rain, "significant" floods, and storm surges in the wake of the cyclone.
He classified "Ida" as "extremely dangerous".
"The time to act is now," said the agency on Twitter.
Category 4 is the second highest level on the hurricane scale, with wind speeds of at least 209 kilometers per hour.
According to the NHC, New Orleans is also threatened, where more than 1,800 people were killed in 2005 and 80 percent of the city was flooded by "Katrina" and its consequences.
The city administration issued an evacuation order for areas outside the dyke and lock system that protects the low-lying city.
She also called on New Orleans residents to stay in their homes.
"We don't want people to take to the streets and put themselves in greater danger," Mayor Cantrell LaToya told the local news website nola.com.
In addition, public shelters would be set up.
"Ida" hit the southwest coast of Cuba on Friday as a category 1 hurricane.
With wind speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour, it hit the city of La Coloma in the province of Pinar del Rio.
As a precaution, the electricity there was switched off and more than 10,000 people were brought to safety.
Thousands of residents have also been evacuated in the capital, Havana, and public transport has ceased.
Just last week, the tropical storm "Henri" caused power outages and floods in the northeastern United States.
According to scientific knowledge, the rising temperatures of the sea surface due to climate change lead to more severe cyclones, which pose an increasing threat, especially for coastal locations worldwide.
sbo / afp