Hurricane Ida: New Orleans plunged into darkness, the United States holds its breath

New Orleans has been completely dark since Sunday night.

At issue: Hurricane Ida, which arrived at midday on the Louisiana coast.

First classified in category 4, Ida moved to category 3 in the early evening.

The same category as Hurricane Katrina which devastated this southern state in the United States in 2005.

The Entergy company, which distributes electricity in southeast Louisiana, "confirmed that New Orleans was without electricity," according to the tweet from NOLA Ready, an agency of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. to emergencies.

"The only electricity in the city comes from the generators," she said.

In total, nearly a million homes were without electricity Sunday night across Louisiana, according to the specialized site poweroutage.us.

VIDEO.

16 years after Katrina, Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Ida

The hurricane has already claimed its first victim, according to the Ascension County Sheriff's Office.

In the evening, a person lost his life after being struck by a tree which collapsed on a residence, reports CNN.

"It's a potentially fatal cyclone", for Joe Biden

“Ida is a dangerous category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (out of 5).

Rapid weakening is expected over the next day, but Ida is expected to remain a hurricane until late tonight, ”NHC, the National Hurricane Center said in its early evening report.

The Center nevertheless warned of the "deadly risk" created by the hurricane and urged residents of the affected areas to "take all necessary measures to protect their lives and property".

Here are the 10 PM CDT August 29 Key Messages for Hurricane #Ida.

For the latest info go to https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB or your local weather office at https://t.co/SiZo8ohZMN pic.twitter.com/mmf0uuPKvl

- National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 30, 2021

A warning taken seriously by the President of the United States. "It's a potentially fatal cyclone," said President Joe Biden. He went to the headquarters of the US crisis management agency on Sunday and urged the population to take the threat seriously. The White House announced on Sunday that federal agencies have deployed more than 2,000 emergency response specialists, including search teams, as well as supplies of water, food and electric generators. Local authorities, the Red Cross and other organizations plan to open "dozens of shelters for at least 16,000 people," the White House added on Sunday.

To the people of the Gulf Coast: Please follow the instructions of local officials during this dangerous time.

As soon as Hurricane Ida passes, we will put this country's full might behind your rescue and recovery.

- President Biden (@POTUS) August 29, 2021

At 9:00 p.m. local time, Ida was still making progress with winds of 175 km / h, less violent than when it made landfall shortly before noon at Port Fourchon.

The ocean level was more than a meter and a half above its usual high average in several places, according to the NHC.

130 km from New Orleans, in the capital Baton Rouge, a curfew has been announced for all of the city west of the Mississippi River, from dusk until nightfall. dawn, Monday.

One of Louisiana's strongest hurricanes in 170 years

In New Orleans, even before the arrival of the hurricane, showers and gusts of wind swept the deserted streets, all stores, gas stations and houses were barricaded, the French Quarter having ended up emptying, found AFP on site.

At 160 km, same observation in Morgan City where several witnesses sent photos to local American media reporters.

A viewer sent me these from #MorganCity.

Hope no one was hurt.

#HurricaneIda #Louisiana pic.twitter.com/tbdMnZLcBr

- Shay O'Connor (@SOCONNORNEWS) August 29, 2021

State Governor John Bel Edwards warned: Ida "will be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit Louisiana since at least the 1850s." He added gravely that "There is no doubt that the next few days and weeks will be extremely difficult ”and“ Once the hurricane has passed, you must be prepared to stay in the shelter where you are for at least 72 hours ”.

The still painful memory of Hurricane Katrina

In Louisiana, Ida already echoes the hurricane that arrived on August 29, 2005: Katrina. The stigmas left exactly 16 years ago are still painful: more than 1,800 people were killed and bad weather caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. “I know it's very painful to think that a new big storm like Hurricane Ida could make landfall on this anniversary date,” said John Bel Edwards. "But we are not the same state as 16 years ago, we have a hurricane risk reduction system." On CNN, the governor estimated that the costly dike system put in place after the devastation of Katrina in 2005 should “hold up”.

The terrifying, deafening sound of Hurricane #Ida as it passed through Grand Isle, Louisiana 😨 # HurricaneIda # Louisianapic.twitter.com / TOzPwbIYdR

- Antoine Llorca (@antoinellorca) August 30, 2021

The American meteorological services hammered out a message all weekend: "Do not go out".

They recommend that residents take refuge in a windowless room in their home and take shelter there.

As the surface of the oceans warms, hurricanes become more powerful, scientists say.

In particular, they pose an increasingly significant risk to coastal communities, victims of wave-submersion phenomena amplified by rising sea levels.

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Hurricane Ida hits a region already on health alert: the Delta variant hit Louisiana hard. Little vaccinated state, its hospital system on its knees with nearly 2,700 hospitalized patients and as many daily deaths as at the peak of the pandemic. The storm therefore comes at "a very difficult time", underlines the governor, presenting "extreme difficulties for us, with the hospitals so full of Covid patients". President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and reminded residents forced to go to shelters: "Make sure you wear a mask and try to keep your distance."