VIDEO. 16 years after Katrina, Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Ida

"We try to barricade the store before the hurricane so that the water does not enter and that people do not try to rob us," said Austin Suriano on Saturday.

Like many traders, the young man and his 16-year-old brother help their father put up large plywood panels at the family watch repair shop near one of New Orleans' major thoroughfares.

Expected late Sunday afternoon in Louisiana, Ida has already hit Cuba with minor damage, before continuing on to become a category 4 out of 5 hurricane. “It will be one of the most powerful hurricanes in strike Louisiana since at least the 1850s, John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana warned at a press conference. The landing wind speed should be maintained at approximately 220 km / h. It's a very strong storm. "

The people of Louisiana all have in mind the painful memory of Hurricane Katrina. Sixteen years ago to the day, on August 29, 2005, more than 1,800 people had died and bad weather caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. “I know it is very painful to think that a new big storm like Hurricane Ida could make landfall on this anniversary date. But we are not the same state as 16 years ago, we have a hurricane risk reduction system, ”said the governor of Louisiana.

Some 10,000 power grid operators are already ready to respond to power cuts, while the Louisiana National Guard has been mobilized. President Joe Biden announced the dispatch of hundreds of emergency response specialists and the establishment of water, food and electric generators.