Hurricane Ida to be the second most intense hurricane to hit Louisiana in the US after Hurricane Katrina. It is to intensify, leading to major destruction. Usually, a tropical storm takes some days or weeks to gain momentum and transform into a hurricane. This time meteorologists are surprised to see it intensify so quickly.
The New York Times reported that the storm had grown from a disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean and reached a devastating impact. Dale Eck, the head of forecast operations for the Americas at IBM, said that the disturbance was like none before because it seemed prevailing in an area where the winds were not strong enough to carry the ocean’s heat to a particular place.
Robert Henson, an independent meteorologist and a journalist for Yale Climate Connections, said, “It would have been hard to concoct a path more favourable to this rapid strengthening than Ida’s.”
Hurricane Katrina took 1800 lives at its time, and it took many years to recover from the impact it created. People are worried if the same consequences are the fate of Hurricane Ida, asserted Associated Press.
Bebe McElroy, as she prepared to leave home in the coastal Louisiana village of Cocodrie, said, “We’re going to catch it head-on. I’m just going around praying, saying, ‘Dear Lord, just watch over us.’”
On Saturday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards commented, “We’re not the same state we were 16 years ago.”
“This system is going to be tested. The people of Louisiana are going to be tested. But we are resilient and tough people. And we’re going to get through this,” he added.
Benjamin Schott, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service in New Orleans, said that if the water did not cool down, it is a cause of worry as it still hovers the potential for further intensification to a category 5.
The Guardian reported that more than a million people are currently without power, according to the poweroutage.us, which is responsible for tracking outages.
Moreover, it added that the energy company Entergy has earlier affirmed that power had been cut off across New Orleans, speculating “catastrophic transmission damage”.
In a statement, Entergy said, “As a result of Hurricane Ida’s catastrophic intensity, all eight transmission lines that deliver power into the New Orleans area are currently out of service. When this occurred, it caused a load imbalance in the area and resulted in generation in the area coming offline.”
“We are currently working to assess the damage and identify a path forward to restore power to those who can take it in the area. We have provided backup generation to the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board. Power will not be restored this evening, but we will continue work to remedy,” it added.
According to the US National Hurricane Center latest advisory reported by the Guardian, Ida has weakened to a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Now it is observed 30 miles (50 km) east-southeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 95 miles per hour (155 km per hour).
The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office informed the first death. A statement on Facebook said, “shortly after 8:30 p.m., deputies received reports of a citizen possibly injured from a fallen tree at a residence off of Highway 621 in Prairieville. Deputies arrived on the scene and confirmed that the victim is now deceased.”
