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Bulkheads tight: emergency services briefly open a gate in the US metropolis of Louisiana for drivers who did not get to safety in time.
Authorities fear the city in the state of Louisiana could be hit by one of the most devastating storms in more than 170 years.
Photo: LUKE SHARRETT / Bloomberg via Getty Images
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As here in the Central Business District, many residents and companies secured the windows of buildings with wooden panels.
The National Hurricane Center warned of heavy rain, a "life-threatening storm surge," catastrophic gusts of wind and long-lasting power outages.
Photo: Max Becherer / dpa
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»Ida«, here on the right, is one of two dangerous cyclones in the region.
In Mexico, Hurricane »Nora« (left in the picture) has already hit land and caused floods and damage.
The storm moved with winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour over the coast of the state of Jalisco.
Photo: AP
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Many ships seek protection in the Mississippi - in the hope that the storm will cause less massive damage there than in the ports.
According to experts, a life-threatening storm surge of more than four meters in height is to be expected on some sections of the coast of Louisiana.
Photo: Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images
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In the small town of Jean Lafitte, south of New Orleans, Fisher High School football and basketball players stacked sandbags.
It is unclear whether these measures will withstand the forces of nature.
Photo: Sophia Germer / AP
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New Orleans is almost entirely surrounded by water: Lake Borgne lies to the east, the wetlands along the Mississippi Estuary to the south - and Lake Pontchartrain, which can be seen in this photo, extends north of the city.
Local residents were asked to get to safety.
Photo: Steve Helber / AP
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"Ida" has already landed outside the USA, as this photo from Cuba shows.
In the meantime, however, the storm has been upgraded from level 1 to the particularly high category 4 of 5.
It should hit Louisiana with enormous force.
Photo: Ramon Espinosa / dpa
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US President Joe Biden was briefed by the civil protection agency Fema about the situation.
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, the White House said.
Photo: Pete Marovich / action press
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Heavy rains in Cuba: The US weather service NHC classified "Ida" as "extremely dangerous", and many sick people are affected - because the coastal hospitals in Louisiana could not be evacuated because there are too many corona patients in the state.
Photo: Ramon Espinosa / dpa
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It was not possible to evacuate all people in New Orleans in time, said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Many petrol stations were running out of gas, while long queues formed at others.
The vehicles pushed themselves close together on the freeways.
Photo: Scott Threlkeld / AP