Powerful Hurricane Ida has left "the entire city of New Orleans" without power this Sunday, local authorities said, and more than 700,000 people in Louisiana are also without service as the storm with category two winds moves dangerously slowly through the been, just hours after making landfall in the morning with category four and winds of 150 miles per hour (240 km / h).
At least one person died from the hurricane, authorities reported late Sunday.
This is a citizen who "possibly" was struck after a tree fell
in the town of Prairieville, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office reported.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday night that Ida generated maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km / h) with a slow travel speed that has increased the danger of the phenomenon.
“The wind is intense, in a sustained way
,
”
Carlos Robles, head of Meteorology for Noticias Telemundo, reported this Sunday afternoon from New Orleans, when the hurricane was about 40 miles from that city.
Hurricane Ida hits New Orleans on Sunday, August 29, 2021. AFP via Getty Images
"Today we took a tour of the city and the question is whether the levees built and improved after Hurricane Katrina can withstand Ida's storm surge," warned the expert, who recalled that in 2005 80% of the city was submerged under water after the failure of the levees.
These systems are designed to withstand a storm surge of up to 30 feet in height.
Ida is the third hurricane to hit Louisiana in the past year.
Hurricane Laura hit the state with category four on August 27, 2020, while Hurricane Zeta made landfall there on October 28, 2020 with category three.
The cyclone made landfall in Louisiana on the same day that Hurricane Katrina devastated that state and Mississippi 16 years ago as a category three meteor.
The winds off Ida made it the fifth most powerful hurricane to hit the continental United States.
Hours after making landfall it was downgraded to Category 3
and had maximum sustained winds of 200 km / h (125 mph) as it approached New Orleans.
In Baton Rouge, the Louisiana capital, Noticias Telemundo found that many Hispanics chose not to evacuate despite warnings from authorities about Ida's dangerousness.
“A lot of people are scared because the news says (Ida) is stronger than Katrina.
But as I keep telling you, we trust God that this will soften, ”said Rafael Rodríguez, who resides in a mobile home community with a high Hispanic population.
Alert and long lines at gas stations in New Orleans within hours of the arrival of Hurricane Ida
Aug. 29, 202101: 49
The president, Joe Biden, on Sunday urged residents not to trust themselves, including in areas far from the coast.
During a meeting with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Biden said that the devastation caused by Ida will probably be "immense" and that the population must be patient because recovery can "take a long time."
The president approved before the arrival of the cyclone the request for an emergency declaration from Louisiana and Mississippi, which
allowed sending more than 2,400 FEMA personnel
, as well as 12 search and rescue teams, 2.5 million meals and 3.1 million liters of water. .
[How and when to prepare for a hurricane]
The powerful storm
forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at several airports in the region
, some of which already anticipated that they will remain closed this Monday.
This will be the arrival of Hurricane Ida to the coasts of Louisiana
Aug. 27, 202102: 26
Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon, through which about 18% of the United States' national oil supply passes, according to data from the local Chamber of Commerce.
As a consequence, 95% of oil production in this region had to be suspended due to the arrival of the hurricane.
Along with the oil industry that has a home in Louisiana,
Ida threatens a region still facing a COVID-19 spike
due to low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant.
Hospitals in New Orleans had planned to weather the storm at near full capacity, as hospitals elsewhere, subject to similar pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, had little room for evacuated patients. Meanwhile, shelters for people fleeing their homes posed an additional risk of becoming hotbeds of infection.