Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana

The first death has been reported from Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. 

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office is reporting a death from a fallen tree.

Just over nine hours after landfall, Hurricane Ida is no longer a major hurricane.

Sustained winds are currently at 110 mph which is a Category 2 storm. Hurricane conditions are spreading further inland, and catastrophic storm surge, hurricane-force winds and flash flooding continue across portions of southeastern Louisiana.

Ida is still producing dangerous wind gusts across Louisiana, including New Orleans. 

New Orleans International Airport just reported a wind gust of 90 mph. Another wind gust of 99 mph was recorded northeast of Raceland, Louisiana in the past hour.

The president of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, Archie Chaisson III, said in a news conference that parts of the parish will be without water, “for some part of the forseeable future,” after a water main line break.

Chaisson also said that he hoped that in the coming hours, the wind and rain would die down enough that they would start being able to get to people that may be in need of rescue. 

Rescues, he said, would remain their first priority. 

In the coming days, Chaisson said they would first focus on getting roads cleared. The Parish would also be assessing their pump stations “at first light.”

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks with CNN on Sunday.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told CNN Sunday night that Hurricane Ida is lashing his state and will continue to cause damage through the night.

Edwards said that he’s aware of calls for help — especially in Jefferson Parish where a mandatory evacuation was issued Thursday — but conditions will not allow for emergency crews to respond yet.

“At the height of a hurricane you can’t get first responders out because it’s just simply too dangerous. The wind speeds don’t allow for that,” he explained. “Just as soon as we can, we will be engaged in very robust search and rescue operations.”

There are 21 urban search and rescue teams from about 15 states ready to search when the storm calms, Edwards said. 

But he warned that the storm is far from over, noting that it hasn’t reach I-10 yet and the expected wind and rain, which could be 20 to 24 inches in those areas, is likely to cause further damage in the state.

“Nobody is out of the woods in southeast Louisiana yet. We’ll be dealing with this until sometime after midnight,” Edwards said, adding that the full extent of damage won’t be known until the sun comes up.

In an updated tweet Sunday night, energy provider Entergy says the power outage currently impacting all of Orleans Parish — including the City of New Orleans — was caused by “a load imbalance to the company’s transmission and generation.” 

“We’re making every effort to learn more and rectify,” Entergy says.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said every road in the parish is impassable at this hour, and agencies are unable to respond to calls for service at this time.

Webre joined CNN Sunday night after video emerged of Hurricane Ida pummeling the roof of a nearby hospital.

The Lady of the Sea General Hospital in Galliano, Louisiana, is stable after a portion of the facility’s roof was ripped off as Ida came ashore earlier in the day, Webre said.

There are still about ten patients in the hospital, the administrator and staff are still able to continue to care for those patients, and they were able to safely relocate to a lower floor, Webre said.  

Two of the three hospitals in Lafourche Parish sustained damage in Sunday’s epic storm, the sheriff added.

The county was also forced to relocate their emergency operations center to a different building after their first building’s roof began to leak earlier in the day on Sunday, Webre told CNN. 

The Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans says the Parish-wide power outage is affecting its ability to operate its sewer pumping stations.

New Orleans residents need to begin limiting water usage at home, “in order to prevent sewage backups.

The board said they have obtained backup power for some of the stations, but they can only mobilize them, “when it is safe to traverse the city.” 

Currently, the Board said they are mustering all of their self-generated power sources to continue operating their stormwater draining, and drinking water pumping, operations.

“Although we have lost all Entergy power, our teams are working quickly and decisively to make up for this with our self-generated power sources,” the statement said. “The Entergy loss of power is a significant loss of power for our 60 hz pumps and the 25 hz pumps we power through the frequency changers, but we are using our self-generated sources of power to drain stormwater and pump drinking water into the city.”

The center of Hurricane Ida is 30 miles west of New Orleans, according to a 9 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

Ida maintains Category 3 strength, but has weakened slightly with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.

Hurricane-force winds continue to move through southern Louisiana along with heavy rain producing flash flooding.

Moments ago, regional energy provider Entergy moments ago reported all of Orleans Parish is without power “due to catastrophic transmission damage” caused by Hurricane Ida.

The news came from the City of New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, which shared the Entergy alert.

Jefferson Parish has issued a boil water advisory for the entire east bank of the parish, a tweet from the government said Sunday.

The advisory was issued “due to the loss of pressure in the distribution system,” according to the tweet. Jefferson Parish is west and south of New Orleans.

Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng told CNN earlier that trees had fallen and their roots had come up, damaging water mains and causing the system to lose pressure.

All customers on the east bank are advised to continue to boil their water until the advisory has been rescinded, the tweet said. 

Earlier today, St. Charles Parish issued a precautionary water boil advisory, according to an emergency alert obtained by CNN. It came after officials received numerous reports of leaks.

All of Orleans Parish — which is the city of New Orleans — is without power, according to NOLA Ready, New Orleans’ emergency preparedness campaign.

If anyone in the parish has power, it’s coming from a generator, NOLA Ready says.

Across Louisiana, more than 700,000 customers are without power as Hurricane Ida continues to pound the coastal state.

Power outages are expected to continue increasing as the storm moves inland.

Barges are docked on the Mississippi River in Destrehan, Louisiana, on Sunday, August 29.

St. Bernard Parish president Guy McInnis tells CNN that he has reports of 22 barges that have broken loose because of Hurricane Ida.

McInnis says that although he is not worried about the barges hitting a levee and damaging it, he is worried that they may hit other infrastructure in the Parish. 

Specifically, McInnis is concerned about the barges damaging the Parish’s water intake and refinery infrastructure. Because the winds are still very high, McInnis says the Coast Guard is waiting for the winds to die down before they can try and moor the loose barges.

Aside from the loose barges, McInnis says that they continue to be inundated with wind and rain as Hurricane Ina continues to lash the Parish. 

He said that the wind has been nothing like he’s ever seen.

Daylight is fading in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida continues to batter the state. The storm will continue to move northward through the night.

If you’re just reading in now, here’s what you need to know about Ida as night falls on the Gulf Coast:

More than 700,000 customers are without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida continues to pound the coastal state.

Poweroutage.us is reporting 720,279 outages as of 8 p.m. ET.

That is an increase of more than 215,000 in the last two hours: At 6 p.m. ET, there were 504,149 customers without power.

Power outages are expected to continue increasing as the storm moves inland.

Hurricane Ida continues to push inland while slowly weakening with top winds of 120 mph, per the 7 p.m. CDT update from the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane-force winds stretch for 45 miles from the storm’s center. 

Ida is currently making its closest pass to New Orleans, and the storm is located 25 miles west-southwest of the city. 

A wind gust of 83 mph was felt at New Orleans International Airport last hour. New Orleans will be seeing their highest winds and heaviest rainfall within the next hour or two.

The tornado threat continues to mount, and a new tornado watch was just issued that includes portions of southern Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, in addition to far eastern Louisiana. The tornado watch is in effect until 7 a.m. ET tomorrow. 

Hurricane Ida is still a Category 3 hurricane as it continues to creep northward through Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest update.

Ida is about 25 miles west southwest of New Orleans now, and it has sustained winds of 120 mph.

Here’s a look at the latest forecast path, according to the National Hurricane Center:

Hurricane Ida lashed the state of Louisiana as a Category 4 storm for about six hours after it made landfall.

Ida was downgraded to a Category 3 storm in a 7 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center. It made landfall as a Category 4 storm around 1 p.m. ET.

For reference, Hurricane Laura, which hit Louisiana last year, went from a 150 mph Category 4 storm to 120 mph Category 3 storm in 3 hours after landfall. Hurricane Michael in 2018 went from 155 mph to 125 in 3 hours post landfall. 

So Hurricane Ida maintained Category 4 strength after landfall for twice as long as those two storms.

So what’s the difference between categories anyway? The National Hurricane Center uses the the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to rate hurricanes. According to the scale, Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph, and they will produce “catastrophic damage.”

“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months,” the center says of Category 4 storms.

Meanwhile, Category 3 storms — which produce “devastating damage” — have sustained winds between 111 and 129 mph.

“Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted, blocking numerous roads. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks after the storm passes,” the center says.

After receiving numerous reports of leaks, St. Charles Parish says it has issued a precautionary water boil advisory, according to an emergency alert obtained by CNN.

“While the Department of Waterworks is currently maintaining positive pressure and all of the storage tanks are full, this precautionary measure is being put in place to ensure the quality of water,” the alert reads. “Additionally, residents should continue to limit non-essential water and sewerage such as washing dishes, cleaning clothes and showering. Flushing toilets is ok.”

St. Charles Parish is just west of New Orleans.

Hurricane Ida has weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, according to a 7 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

Ida made landfall earlier today as a Category 4 storm and kept that status for hours as it moved northward into Louisiana. Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph, while Category 3 storms have sustained winds between 111 and 129 mph.

The center of the storm is now located 30 miles southwest of New Orleans.

While the eye will pass west of New Orleans, conditions there will deteriorate rapidly in the next few hours as higher winds arrive, along with torrential flooding rain.  

Catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds, and flash flooding continue in portions of southeastern Louisiana.

Students walk at the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in April 2021.

Louisiana State University will be closed at least through Tuesday “due to the expected impacts of Hurricane Ida,” the LSU Office of Emergency Preparedness said in a message to the LSU community Sunday.

The University had previously announced it would be closed through Monday due to the hurricane.

Residence halls are open and on-campus residents were told to get extra takeout meals in advance of the hurricane, as the dining halls are not open, according to the message.

The university said any changes to the academic calendar would be announced after the hurricane.  

LSU is located in Baton Rouge, about 130 miles northwest of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, where Ida made landfall earlier today.

Security camera footage captured roaring waters and whipping winds in Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish as Hurricane Ida continues to churn over the state.

St. Bernard Parish — just southeast of New Orleans — posted the video to Twitter:

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Sunday requested a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration as his state continues to be pummeled by Hurricane Ida, according to a press release from his office.

“Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms to ever hit Louisiana. It is our goal to assist our local agencies and the citizens of the state as quickly as possible, and we have pre-positioned search and rescue teams, boats and other assets to begin helping people as soon as it is safe,” Edwards said in a press release Sunday.

“This major disaster declaration will help Louisiana better respond to this crisis and protect the health and safety of our people, and I hope the White House will act quickly so we can begin getting additional aid and assistance to our people,” the governor added.

Edwards has requested federal public assistance related to emergency protection actions, shelters and temporary housing costs, his office said. Also included is a request for federal assistance for debris removal and infrastructure damage, according to the press release.

On Friday, the Biden administration approved Edwards’ request for a Federal Declaration of Emergency prior to Ida making landfall, CNN previously reported. 

Officials in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, hit hard by Hurricane Ida, says their 911 line and Parish Sheriff Office phone lines are down.

CNN obtained an emergency alert sent out to residents in Lafourche Parish, which alerted the outage. 

No reason was given for the outage, but much of the Parish is being inundated with wind, rain and storm surge from Hurricane Ida.

Those with emergencies should call 985-772-4810 or 985-772-4824.

Rainfall and storm surge from Hurricane Ida is causing a levee to overtop on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish between the Parish line and White Ditch, according to the New Orleans National Weather Service office, which shared an update from the Plaquemines Parish government.

A flash flood emergency is in effect for parts of Plaquemines Parish, including the Braithwaite area, and residents are urged to seek higher ground.

The center of Hurricane Ida is passing just east, about 5 miles, from Houma, Louisiana, at 5 p.m. local time, which is 6 p.m. ET.

Ida is currently located about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans and maximum sustained winds remain at 130 mph, meaning it’s still a Category 4.

Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph

Damaging wind gusts continue to be reported. A station at the South Lafourche Airport recently had a gust to 122 mph. Winds also continue to pick up in New Orleans, with a wind gust of 83 mph reported at New Orleans Lakefront Airport last hour.

Rain batters Canal Street in New Orleans, on Sunday, August 29.

More than 500,000 customers are now without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida continues to slam the state, according to Poweroutage.us. 

There are 504,149 customers without power as of 6 p.m. ET, another increase of more than 100,000 customers within 90 minutes.

Power outages are expected to continue increasing as the storm moves inland.

Hurricane Ida is still a Category 4 storm hours after making landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

It’s just past 5 p.m. in the state now — here’s where things stand:

Winds are whipping and trees are down in Houma, Louisiana, as Hurricane Ida blasts the region.

CNN meteorologist Derek van Dam is in Houma — which is about 60 miles northwest of Port Fourchon, where Ida made landfall earlier today — and took video of the dangerous conditions from a balcony

Here’s what it looks like:

There’s a flash flood warning now in effect for New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service in the city.

Flash flood warning have also been issued for…

The warnings will last until at least 11 p.m. ET, or 10 p.m. local time.

Hurricane Ida continues to push through southeastern Louisiana on Sunday afternoon, and is currently located 45 miles southwest of New Orleans, according to the 5 p.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center. 

Ida’s top wind speeds have decreased slightly, down to 130 mph, which still makes it a Category 4 storm. 

Hurricane Ida’s forward speed has slowed down and the storm is only moving to the northwest at 10 mph. This will increase the flooding potential, as well as the amount of time the winds will last over inland locations.

Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen organization are on the ground in New Orleans and have set up three kitchens with enough food to serve more than 100,000 meals, he said on Twitter Sunday afternoon.

Andres and his team are sheltering-in-place until Hurricane Ida passes, and he’s encouraged by the pre-positioning he’s seen from both the federal government and non-governmental organizations since he arrived in New Orleans on Saturday night.

Andres says the kitchens are stocked, the food is on-sight and they will be operational once it is safe to do so.

He left Haiti on Saturday and his World Central Kitchen site there to assemble a team in New Orleans ahead of the storm.

Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, earlier today. The storm is about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Hurricane Ida is still a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. ET advisory.

Category 4 hurricanes have sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph, so Ida is holding onto the status by a thread — but it’s still a dangerous storm.

The storm is about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans.

Here’s a look at the storm’s latest forecast path:

Colonial Pipeline, which bills itself the largest refined products pipeline in the US, is temporarily shutting down two fuel lines between Houston, Texas, and Greensboro, North Carolina, as a precaution due to Hurricane Ida, the pipeline’s operator said Sunday afternoon. 

Lines 1 and 2 were shuttered “as a precautionary and routine safety measure,” Colonial Pipeline said in a statement. Lines 3 and 4, which carry fuel from Greensboro to Linden, New Jersey, have not been impacted and remain operational, they said. 

The pipeline operation emphasized that fuel supply continues to be available “throughout the southeast” from numerous terminals located along the supply route.

Some context: The 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline provides nearly half the gasoline and diesel consumed by the East Coast, making it one of America’s most important pieces of energy infrastructure.

Colonial Pipeline said it expects to get back to full service after evaluating its infrastructure and executing a startup plan.

“This is temporary,” Colonial Pipeline spokesperson Eric Abercrombie told CNN. “We do this as a safety precaution during severe weather events.”

For instance, Colonial Pipeline said it shut down fuel lines due to an ice storm earlier this year as well as during two hurricanes last year.

In May, the Colonial Pipeline was knocked offline for six days by a ransomware attack that caused panic-buying in the Southeast. 

More than 400,000 customers are now without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida moves through the state, according to Poweroutage.us.

There are 410,577 customers without power as of 4:30 p.m. ET.

Power outages are expected to continue increasing as the storm moves inland.

Storm surge and strong winds stopped the flow of the Mississippi River on Sunday near New Orleans and actually caused the flow to reverse – something the United States Geological Survey said is “extremely uncommon.”

Perrien noted that the river level rose about 7 feet due to the storm surge pushing up the river at the USGS gauge, located in Belle Chasse, about 20 miles south of New Orleans in southeastern Louisiana.

“During that time, the flow of the river slowed from about 2 feet per second down to about half a foot per second in the other direction,” Perrien said.

Perrien pointed out that the gauge does not measure the flow of the entire river, so it is possible that the deeper portions of the river did not reverse flow directions.

“The river is feeling the effects of the storm over a large area,” Perrien said, “all the way up to Baton Rouge the river has risen 1.5 feet in the past 12 hours as the surge pushes up the river. And the water level will likely rise more in the coming hours here in Baton Rouge.”

Grand Isle Marina in Grand Isle, Louisiana, shared surveillance video showing the venue flooded as Ida works its way through the area Sunday.

Watch:

President Biden urged residents to listen to officials and stay safe as Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana’s coast.

Biden pledged to put “the country’s full might” behind rescue and recovery efforts.

“We’re going to be here. We’re going to be here to help the Gulf region get back on its feet as quickly as possible, as long as it takes,” he said.

“We should be prepared that it can take a long time no matter how much we’ve prepositioned — which we have — that is going to take a long time for a lot of them to get back up. It could take a matter of weeks for some places,” the President said.

Watch President Biden:

Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana’s coast near Port Fourchon earlier today as a Category 4 storm. If you’re just reading in now, here’s the latest on the hurricane:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent the following supplies to Louisiana ahead of Hurricane Ida making landfall, according to spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg:

There are 22 federal agencies supporting the effort, Rothenberg added. Millions more meals and liters of water are on their way, she said.

A fire station in Delacroix, Louisiana, shared a video of the devastation Hurricane Ida is causing in just a short period of time.

Watch:

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said today that Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms to make landfall in Louisiana in modern times, as it rapidly intensified at an unprecedented rate, right up until landfall.

The governor urged residents to remain indoors and to be patient, as the state does not know how soon first responders will be able to respond to calls for assistance.

The entirety of the Louisiana National Guard has been activated and currently more than 4,900 guardsmen are staged across 14 parishes. They have 195 high water vehicles, 73 boats, and 34 helicopters ready to support and assist the citizens, the governor said.

According to the governor, all of the state’s Hurricane Protection Systems have been completely closed and all structures are fully operational at this time, though overtopping in some southeast portions are anticipated.

“Obviously overtopping is concerning, but I want to make sure that everybody understands overtopping and levee failure are not the same thing,” Edwards said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said officials do not expect overtopping of levees in the New Orleans area due to Hurricane Ida.

The Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System is a flood prevention system constructed after Hurricane Katrina in 2006. Hurricane Ida made landfall 16 years after Katrina.

Edwards said that floodwaters may crest over levees in certain other areas, including portions of the Larose to Golden Meadow levee system, and non-federal levees in Plaquemines and lower St. Bernard parishes.

“Obviously, overtopping is concerning, but I want to make sure that everybody understands, overtopping and levee failure are not the same thing. A levee failure can be much more catastrophic,” he said.

WATCH:

More than 285,000 customers are without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida drives into the state, according to Poweroutage.us.

There are 285,477 customers without power as of 3 p.m. ET.

There were about 150,000 customers without power just before 2 p.m. ET.

Dr. Katherine O’Neal, chief medical officer or Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, said that while her hospital is ready to sustain Hurricane Ida, it will be stretched thin due to the influx in Covid-19 patients.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards earlier said that Ida “presents some very challenging difficulties for us with the hospitals being so full of Covid patients.”

O’Neal said the hospital is planning for all scenarios.

“What we’re planning for today is taking more patients, even though we’re at capacity. We’ll need to take the patients into our halls,” O’Neal said. “And then different from any storm, how do we take the health care workers with them? We’ll need them to help take care of these patients. We don’t have enough here to stretch beyond the patients that we have in-house.”

Both day-shift and night-shift health workers are at the hospital, and there are 600 mattresses on hand for them to use “for the long run,” she said. But health workers are exhausted due to the pandemic, O’Neal said, and now have added stress due to the storm.

“They left their families to evacuate; they left their families to not know what their houses are going to be like or be able to communicate,” she said.

The Royal Dutch Shell Plc Convent Refinery is seen ahead of Hurricane Ida, on Saturday, August 28 in Convent, Louisiana.

More than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil production has been shut down thanks to Hurricane Ida, regulators said Sunday, indicating the hurricane is having a significant impact on energy supply.  

As of 11:30 a.m. CT, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 288 oil-and-gas production platforms, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. That represents about 51% of the manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agency said all 11 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have also been evacuated, and a total of 1.7 million barrels of daily oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in – the equivalent to 95.7% of the region’s total output. 

The widespread loss of oil supply from one of America’s energy hubs is likely to lift prices.  US oil prices rose sharply last week ahead of Hurricane Ida’s arrival. 

Oil futures are set to begin trading at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Entergy Corp. electric utility company bucket trucks are staged on Canal Street in New Orleans on Sunday, August 29, during Hurricane Ida.

There are now more than 200,000 customers without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida maneuvers inland.

According to poweroutage.us, 223,680 customers are without power as a result of Hurricane Ida, an increase of more than 73,000 in around 30 minutes. There were 150,012 customers without power at 1:54 p.m. ET.

Power outages are expected to continue as the storm moves inland.

A new extreme wind warning is in effect for locations further inland than the previous warning, which just expired, due to Hurricane Ida.

This new warning is in effect until 4:30 p.m. CDT and spans from the coast through the southwestern corner of Lake Pontchartrain, including Houma, Laplace and Bayou Cane in Louisiana.

People have been asked to seek shelter over the next few hours as the NWS warns that it’s “an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation!”

More than 300,000 people normally reside in the area of this warning.

Data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) indicates that the flow of the Mississippi River in New Orleans has partially reversed its flow due to the strong storm surge and winds from Hurricane Ida pushing up the river. 

The river gauge at Belle Chasse, just southeast of central New Orleans, shows the surface velocity of the water slowing significantly on Sunday morning from 2 feet per second down to zero by 10 a.m. CDT.

The flow rate has been negative for the past three hours, reaching a peak of -0.21 feet per second at 12:45 p.m CDT.

Josh Welch is riding out Hurricane Ida on a boat in Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Welch said four men are on the boat with him.

“We realized we was trapped” by the time conditions deteriorated, he said.

He said his cell phone is in and out of service and he’s “shocked” the cell tower is still up.

Welch said this is the first time he’s ever experienced anything like this. He’s seen other hurricanes, but “this is the first time I’ve actually been in one.” 

Watch the interview:

New Orleans Emergency Management Services said Sunday it has suspended all operations as Hurricane Ida makes landfall.

“NOEMS operations have been suspended due to dangerous winds,” the department said in a tweet Sunday.

NOEMS said operations will resume once conditions are safe for first-responders.

Tornadoes may spin up now that Hurricane Ida is moving ashore. A tornado watch is in effect for portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The threat of a few tornadoes will increase throughout the day and into the evening. 

“Hurricanes and tropical storms that make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico are more likely to produce tornadoes compared to storms in the Atlantic,” explains Brandon Miller, CNN meteorologist.

It is important to note because the threat of tornadoes is not limited to the coastline or to the day of landfall. 

Often, the day after landfall can produce more tornadoes than on the landfall day itself, and they can occur hundreds of miles inland.

Know the difference between a watch and a warning.

International Space Station crew member Thomas Pesquet captured a photo of Hurricane Ida from space just a few hours before it made landfall in Lousiana.

See the tweet:

With Hurricane Ida making landfall as a 150 mph Category 4 hurricane, it is now tied for the strongest storm to ever make landfall in Louisiana. 

By the numbers:

The Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) said Sunday that there are a number of sewage pump stations on both the East and West Banks of New Orleans currently experiencing power outages.

SWBNO said those stations will be out of service until Hurricane Ida passes and it is safe for SWBNO to make assessments. However, generators are being deployed to assist with the outages at the pump stations, according to Ramsey Green, deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure with New Orleans.

 “If you don’t need to use water, don’t use it for the moment. Okay, for the moment, you don’t need to use water. Just be conservative with it,” Green said.

There are now more than 100,000 customers without power in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida bears down.

According to poweroutage.us, 104,892 customers are without power as a result of Hurricane Ida, an increase of more than 24,000 in just 50 minutes.

There were 80,154 customers without power at 12:24 p.m. ET.

Power outages are expected to increase as the storm moves inland.

Hurricane Ida has made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as an extremely dangerous, Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

More from the NHC:

St. John the Baptist Parish has enacted a parish-wide curfew starting tonight, according to an emergency alert.

The curfew starts tonight at 6 p.m. p.m. local time, and lasts until 7 a.m.

The parish is located two parishes west of New Orleans and is bordered by three lakes: Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, and Lac des Allemands.  

Grand Isle, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021.

Joshua Legg stayed on Grand Isle, Louisiana, to ride out Hurricane Ida and witness the worsening conditions as the storm approaches.

Legg said his home is safe and he is in a “cat5 rated structure.” He said he was a police officer for 15 years and still works with SAR (Search and Rescue) to help his community. 

Watch:

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plane captured video from inside the eye of Hurricane Ida on Sunday morning.

Watch:

Bourbon Street is near empty ahead of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans on August 29, 2021.

As Hurricane Ida approaches the coast of Louisiana, Energy Louisiana said Sunday some of its customers could be without power for weeks.

The company warned that while 90% of customers will likely have their power restored in a timely manner, flooding and storm damage may prevent crews from accessing certain areas. 

The company said it expects to deploy around 16,000 restoration personnel once the storm passes. 

“Crews are standing by to assess damages and quickly and safely restore power as conditions allow. With the additional requested resources, we anticipate mobilizing a storm team of about 16K to support restoration efforts,” Energy Louisiana tweeted.

According to its website, Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy Louisiana serves approximately 1.1 million electric customers in 58 parishes, the company says.

There are nearly 77,000 customers without power throughout the state currently, according to poweroutage.us.

The very dangerous northern eyewall of Hurricane Ida is moving onshore along the southeast Louisiana coast, according to the 12 p.m. EDT update from the National Hurricane Center. 

The eyewall is the most dangerous part of a hurricane, which contains the highest winds. 

The storm continues to pack winds of 150 mph with higher gusts and is still an extremely dangerous, Category 4 hurricane.

The center of Ida was located around 25 miles from Grand Isle, Louisiana. A wind gust of 104 mph was recently reported at Southwest Pass, Louisiana. 

Ida will be making landfall over the next hour or so when the center of the eye is halfway over the coast. Extreme winds and surge will accompany landfall over the next several hours.

There are more than 65,000 customers without power in the state of Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 Hurricane Ida approaches the coast.

There are 65,535 customers without power as a result of Hurricane Ida, according to poweroutage.us.

The Jackson Public School District in Mississippi announced Sunday it is canceling school and extracurriculars Monday as the state braces for Hurricane Ida. 

According to its website, JPSD is the second-largest school district in the state and serves around 21,000 students.

JPSD said its personnel will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates through its website and social media platforms.

Grand Isle, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021.

Louisiana resident Sharlette Landry’s home security cameras captured footage of water quickly rising in her home before it lost power ahead of Hurricane Ida.

Watch:

St. Tammany Parish has issued an executive order declaring a parish-wide curfew, effective at noon (1 p.m. ET) today, including all municipalities, parish president Michael Cooper said.

The curfew will be in effect until the danger of Hurricane Ida has passed, the parish president said. 

While the curfew is in effect, the only vehicles allowed on the streets within the parish will be those necessary to address life-threatening emergencies, and those under the direction of first responders and utilities, Cooper said.

Landfall of Hurricane Ida is expected shortly, as the parish prepares for 10 inches or more of rain and the possibility of tornadoes. Local roadways are expected to be inundated and impassable because of high water, downed trees and downed power lines, Cooper said.

The parish is planning for widespread power outages, with current reports of over 7,500 power outages already, Cooper said.

Jones Park in Gulfport, Mississippi, is flooded ahead of the storm's landfall on August 29, 2021.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Sunday it has deployed more than 2,400 personnel in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas to assist with the response to Hurricane Ida.

FEMA has deployed Incident management assistance teams and liaison officers and set up incident support bases throughout the region.

Deployed assets include 12 urban search and rescue teams in Alabama and Louisiana and a US Army Corp of Engineers power restoration team. 

More than 90 ambulances and emergency medical providers are on stand-by and will assist with evacuations, the statement said. FEMA has deployed air-born ambulances as well, including eight fixed-wing and seven rotary models.

FEMA said 2.5 million meals and 3.1 million liters of water are staged and ready for distribution.

Additional federal assistance teams have been deployed from other agencies as well.

CNN’s Catherine Carter contributed to this report

The extreme wind warning remains in effect for southeastern parts of Louisiana now until 1:30 p.m. CDT. 

The National Weather Service is warning people in the area to treat the situation as if a “tornado was approaching.”

Meteorologists use the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to measure a hurricane’s strength. The scale also estimates potential property damage.

Storms reaching Category 3 and higher are considered major hurricanes “because of their potential for significant loss of life and damage,” the National Hurricane Center stated.

The system divides storms into five categories:

Fort Morgan, Alabama, on August 29, 2021.

Water could be seen rising in Fort Morgan, Alabama, on Sunday due to Hurricane Ida.

Wyatt Northrup recorded the following video showing the approaching storm.

Watch:

Storm surge is seen by Louisiana Route 1 in Golden Meadow, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021.

Hurricane Ida is beginning to move onshore with maximum sustained winds still at 150 mph, according to the 11 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.

The center of Hurricane Ida should make landfall in Southeast Louisiana in the next couple of hours, and the center will make its closest pass to New Orleans later this evening.

“Ida is an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some slight additional strengthening is still possible before Ida moves onshore along the Louisiana coast,” added the NHC.

The updated forecast is for the storm to have winds up to 150 mph at landfall, but regardless of category, it will still be very impactful.

Hurricane-force winds extend up to 50 miles from Ida’s center and the tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 150 miles outward. A recent wind gust from an elevated weather station at Southwest Pass has measured a 121 mph wind gust.

Storm surge is also beginning to increase rapidly as Ida nears the coast. Shell Beach, Louisiana is reporting a storm surge of about 5.8 feet above the normal high tide.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Sunday that FEMA has approved the state’s request for a pre-disaster emergency measures declaration.

According to a press release, the approval authorizes FEMA to provide assistance including emergency measures and direct Federal assistance to 24 counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said incoming Hurricane Ida will be the strongest test yet for the state’s current Hurricane and Storm Risk Reduction System.

“All of our modeling shows that we feel very good about what’s inside the Hurricane Risk Reduction System. We have lesser systems of protection built along the coast, where the levees aren’t as high, and they’re not fortified and we’re very concerned there,” Edwards said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards speaks from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Hurricane Ida “is going to be a very serious test for our levee systems.”

Edwards said that the pandemic is further complicating the state’s efforts to deal with the hurricane.

He told CNN that Ida, “comes at a time that, quite frankly, it presents some very challenging difficulties for us with the hospitals being so full of Covid patients.”

Watch the interview:

About 39,000 power outages have been reported across Louisiana, poweroutage.us reported as Hurricane Ida bears down on the region Sunday morning.

As of 10:18 a.m., 38,759 power outages have been reported.

The National Weather Service New Orleans tweeted a grim warning to residents of Louisiana as Hurricane Ida descends on the region today.

Read the tweet:

New Orleans has received over 65 inches of rain so far this year, their second wettest on record to this point of the year. This will make flooding in the region worse as Hurricane Ida approaches.

New Orleans is expecting 15-20 inches of rain with Ida.

Some more context: New Orleans averages 62 inches of rain in a year, so they have already totaled more than that with four more months to go.

 Landfall will occur on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in Louisiana.

The United Cajun Navy said Sunday it has activated all state chapters as Hurricane Ida, now a Category 4, continues to rapidly intensify.

The volunteer search and rescue and disaster relief organization said it will be sending out specialty teams during the storm and will deploy more teams once the storm has passed.

The UCN said it has deployed the first round of response teams to New Orleans. According to a Facebook post, the teams departed Denham Springs and will assist with medical and elderly evacuations. 

The UCN issued an urgent request for more volunteers.

According to the group’s website, the UCN is a “nationally registered 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides Search and Rescue, Disaster Relief, and much more.”

Few motorists travel on the 1-10 ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021.

When Hurricane Ida makes landfall later today, it will be coming in contact with a different-looking New Orleans.

Ida is rapidly intensifying over the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, the same date Hurricane Katrina made landfall 16 years ago.

Green called the city’s levee system “an unprecedentedly powerful protection for the city,” which has three lines of defense: the coast, the wetlands and the levee system. “I think from that perspective, we need to be comfortable and we need to know that we’ll be in a much better place than we were 16 years ago,” Green said.

Green added: “That said, if we have 10 to 20 inches of rain over an abbreviated period of time, we will see flooding. We don’t know at this moment, we see 15 to 20 inches over 48 hours or less, and we can handle it, depending on the event.”

As Hurricane Ida approaches the coast of Lousiana, comparisons are already being made to Hurricane Katrina and Zeta.

“Like snowflakes, no two storms are exactly alike,” CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said, “but there are similarities to Ida’s forecasted track.”

Here are some of the similarities and differences:

Read more about how Louisiana hasn’t yet recovered from two major hurricanes in 2020.

The National Weather Service in New Orleans has issued an extreme wind warning for southeastern parts of Louisiana, as the strongest winds from Hurricane Ida start to move onshore.

This warning is in effect until 10:45 a.m. CT and includes Houma, Bayou Cane and Estelle in southeast Louisiana.

Wind gusts in some locations may exceed 150 mph from the eyewall of Ida.

People in this warning are urged to shelter in place: “Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter now,” the NWS office in New Orleans warned.

“This is a short-fused product that alerts in the final moments prior to the rapid onset of destructive winds associated with the inner rain-bands of major hurricanes,” the NWS said regarding the definition of this alert.

This alert is issued when sustained winds are of at least 115 mph.

People drive through floodwaters in Gulfport, Mississippi, on August 29, 2021.

The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have warned residents to brace for impacts from Hurricane Ida.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves warned his state could experience hurricane wind impacts and urged residents to stay vigilant.

“[Ida is] moving fast and landfall of the storm’s eye is expected [around] 1pm today in south Louisiana. Hurricane level winds [are] possible as [the] storm enters SW MS south of Natchez area in next 24 hours,” Reeves tweeted. “Please be weather aware, get prepared, and watch for updates!”

Hurricane Ida is now just 7 mph short of being a Category 5 hurricane, according to the 7: a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center. Tornado warnings have been issued until 7 p.m. for multiple states in the Southeast as well.

Dave Hennen contributed to this report.

Hurricane Ida now has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph based on data from the Hurricane Hunters flying into the storm, according to the 7 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center.  

That is just 7 mph shy of Category 5 intensity.

Ida is located 75 miles SSE of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Sustained, hurricane-force winds are also now being measured in extreme southeastern Louisiana. An elevated weather station at Pilot’s Station East near Southwest Pass, Louisiana recently reported a wind gust up to 107 mph.  

Further changes in intensity are possible, but Ida is expected to remain an extremely dangerous storm. Landfall is expected early this afternoon along the Louisiana coast.

The Plaquemines Parish government issued new rules for evacuees in their shelter to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19 ahead of Hurricane Ida’s landfall.

The rules were issued ahead of a mandatory evacuation that went into effect on Friday for parts of the Parish.

Anyone that is symptomatic for Covid-19 is required to get tested.

“All cots will be placed further apart in accordance with the State of Louisiana COVID-19 guidelines,” the Parish said. 

Because of the Covid-19 restrictions, the Parish encouraged residents to, “find a means to evacuate on your own due to COVID-19 restrictions in public shelters.”