This GOES-16 East GeoColor satellite image taken Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, at 10:20 p.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Ida in the Caribbean Sea. Tropical Storm Ida formed in the Caribbean on Thursday and forecasters said its track was aimed at the U.S. Gulf Coast, prompting Louisiana's governor to declare a state of emergency and forecasters to announce a hurricane watch for New Orleans.NOAA via AP
- On Friday, Cuba was showered with heavy wind and rain by Hurricane Ida.
- Hurricane Ida is the fourth hurricane and ninth named storm of 2021.
- Louisiana hospitals are already near capacity with COVID-19 patients as Ida enters the Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Ida passed through Cuba on Friday and is forecasted to make landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, the same day Hurricane Katrina struck the area 16 years ago.
The center of Ida is projected to move across the Gulf of Mexico Saturday night and early Sunday, make landfall along the coast of Louisiana Sunday afternoon or evening, and continue inland over portions of Louisiana and western Mississippi on Monday, according to a public advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Ida marks the ninth named storm of 2021 and the fourth storm to develop into a hurricane. As Ida approaches the Gulf Coast, Louisiana hospitals are inundated with COVID-19 patients, with approximately 68% of state hospital beds and 84% of all ICU beds filled, according to The Daily Advertiser's hospital capacity table.
Gov. John Bel Edwards warns Hurricane Ida will be the strongest storm to hit Louisiana since the 1850s
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards speaks during a press conference to update the public on FEMA's disaster recover and temporary housing programs on August 19, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged residents to evacuate north of Baton Rouge and west of Lafayette as Hurricane Ida approaches the Gulf Coast, WAFB Channel 9 reported.
On August 26, Edwards declared a state of emergency and sent President Joe Biden a letter asking for direct federal assistance in response to Hurricane Ida. The Category 4 storm, which Edwards told WAFB will be the strongest storm to hit the state since the 1850s, is forecast to make landfall late Sunday with wind speeds up to 110 mph.
President Biden discusses Hurricane Ida preparations with FEMA, National Hurricane Center
US President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual briefing by Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on preparations for Hurricane Ida, in the South Court auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2021.
Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
National Hurricane Center Director Kenneth Graham briefed Biden on Saturday about Ida's projected path, which he said "will likely be very strong and destructive, with dangerous, life-threatening storm surge and significant rainfall that would impact both coastal and inland areas," according to a White House briefing.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joined a videoconference with Biden from the National Response Coordination Center to discuss evacuation efforts and concerns about widespread power outages, the briefing said.
Biden approved an emergency disaster declaration for Louisiana on Friday, authorizing federal assistance for all of the state's 64 parishes.
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