Hurricane "Ida" hit land in the southern United States on Sunday.
With extreme wind speeds and heavy rain, the cyclone caused great damage.
With "Ida" a strong hurricane hit the south coast of the USA - millions of people in the state of Louisiana were without electricity (
original report
).
As a result, enormous amounts of rain are expected to fall over the region.
No figures about victims or damage are known yet.
Update from August 30th, 2:10 pm:
Deanne Criswell from the American civil protection agency Fema warns on
CNN
: "The danger is not over yet."
The storm will continue to bring a lot of rain on its way to the US states of Mississippi or even Tennessee and West Virginia.
"So the people who are in the storm's catchment area still need to be aware of the risks," said Criswell.
The expert also gave an initial assessment of the damage that the hurricane left in the southern state of Louisiana.
There have been reports of buildings that may have collapsed and a number of hospitals run on emergency power generators.
You also know that some people need help.
More details will be shown in the next few hours.
Update from August 30, 12.25 p.m.:
Storm “Ida” has weakened further over the southern US state of Louisiana.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded him from a hurricane to a tropical storm early Monday morning (local time).
However, dangerous tidal waves, violent winds and flash floods can still be expected over parts of southeast Louisiana and in the south of the state of Mississippi.
The cyclone now brings maximum sustained wind speeds of 95 kilometers per hour, the NHC in Miami announced.
The hurricane moved very slowly over land, so the locations in its path are exposed to extreme winds for a long time.
Experts therefore feared great damage.
First report from August 30th:
New Orleans - The strong hurricane "Ida" caused massive flooding and damage in the southern US state of Louisiana.
In addition, more than a million people in the southern United States lost power due to storm damage.
The true extent of the destruction of the extreme weather * will only become apparent from Monday (August 30), as soon as the storm has withdrawn in a northeasterly direction and rescue and recovery operations can begin, said Governor John Bel Edwards.
Hurricane "Ida": Extreme wind speeds - warning of "life-threatening storm surge"
The hurricane * moved slowly over land on Sunday evening (local time) as a strong hurricane of level three of five, which is why the places on its path were exposed to extreme winds and heavy rainfall for a long time.
Experts therefore feared great damage.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the cyclone would bring maximum sustained wind speeds of 195 kilometers per hour and even stronger gusts.
Wind gusts are picking up in Houma, Louisiana.
Eyewall coming soon.
#Hurricane #Ida pic.twitter.com/XiKrGmFPj8
- Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) August 29, 2021
When it reached the coast, “Ida” even brought wind speeds of around 240 kilometers per hour with it.
In addition, the NHC warned of heavy rain and a "life-threatening storm surge".
"Ida" has since been downgraded to category two.
The cyclone now brings a maximum of sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers per hour and even stronger gusts, according to the NHC.
Hurricane "Ida" causes great damage - power outage in New Orleans
"Ida" caused a meter-high storm surge * on some parts of the US coast.
As US media reported, the force of the incoming water was so strong that the water in southern New Orleans in the Mississippi, according to measurements, flowed upriver for around three hours.
Photos and videos showed houses that were under water, streets that became rivers, covered houses and numerous uprooted trees in the coastal areas.
Low-lying areas southwest of the city of New Orleans, for which evacuation orders had mostly previously been issued, were particularly affected.
+
Hurricane Ida also caused floods in the US state of Mississippi.
More than a million people in the US currently have no electricity.
© Justin Mitchell / dpa
As the city operations center announced, the power went out in the entire city of New Orleans. “The only electricity in the city comes from generators,” they said. Around 400,000 people live in New Orleans. It is not to be expected that the supply will be restored anytime soon, said the utility Energy. Hurricane "Ida" damaged all eight lines responsible for supplying electricity to the city. The repair work continued. Overall, the website poweroutage.us reported that more than a million people in the southern United States were without electricity, mainly in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi *.
Flood and tornado warnings were also issued in parts of the neighboring states to the east of Mississippi and Alabama because of the hurricane.
Governor Edwards said coastal hospitals could not be evacuated despite the hurricane because there were too many corona patients.
Currently, 2,450 patients are being treated for Covid-19 in the state with 4.6 million inhabitants, he said.
There is no longer any capacity in Louisiana and the neighboring states to accept additional patients.
Hurricane "Ida": At least one fatality - Biden promises help
In the US state of Louisiana * there are also reports of a first fatality from Hurricane "Ida".
In the community of Prairieville, a person was fatally injured by a falling tree, said the local sheriff's office on Sunday evening (local time) on Facebook.
When the police arrived, the officers could only determine the death of the victim.
Further details were not initially known.
"Ida" struck Louisiana 16 years to the day after the arrival of the devastating hurricane "Katrina".
"Katrina" had caused catastrophic damage and floods in and around New Orleans.
Around 1,800 people were killed at that time.
Since then, however, billions have been invested in flood protection in the region.
+
Hurricane Ida caused great damage in New Orleans.
© Eric Gay / dpa
"It will be a destructive hurricane, a life-threatening storm," US President Joe Biden * warned in advance.
"To the people of the Gulf Coast, I want you to know that we are praying for the best outcome and preparing for the worst." Biden pledged the support of the US government to the people.
"As soon as the storm is over, we will use all the power in this country to rescue and rebuild," said the president.
(ph / dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Eric Gay
