Hurricane Ida is now expected to be a Category 4 hurricane and make landfall Sunday afternoon. Governor John Bel Edwards is urging residents to make a plan, remain alert, and to listen to local officials when evacuation orders are issued
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Terrebonne Parish and St. Charles parished have issued mandatory evacuation orders, and the Saints game that had been moved to Saturday in anticipation of the hurricane is now canceled.
The state’s largest healthcare system, Ochsner Health says they don’t plan on having to transfer any patients out of their hospitals ahead of Hurricane Ida. CEO Warner Thomas says they are prepared with water, fuel, and generators for the hurricane.
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The National Weather Service projects eight to twelve inches of rain will fall across Southeast Louisiana on Sunday and Monday as Ida approaches and then makes landfall. NWS New Orleans forecaster Jared Klein warns residents to anticipate flash floods as heavy rains soak already saturated ground.
Utility providers are prepping for Ida’s arrival on Sunday and in an effort to restore power as safely and quickly as possible if needed. Vice President of Distribution at Entergy Louisiana John Hawkins Jr says personnel is going through their pre-storm checklists and making sure that additional supplies, including poles, transformers, and other equipment, are on hand.
Residents should be prepared for the possibility of lengthy outages due to the expected intensity of Ida.