Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency Thursday night as the tropical storm headed their way is expected to be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall.
Though still a tropical storm, Ida is expected to become a full-fledged hurricane on Saturday. It is currently moving northwest at 15 mph with winds at 65 mph.
It is expected to hit the coast of Louisiana on Sunday — ironically, the 16th anniversary of the category 5 Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans in 2005.
The hurricane watch has been issued from Cameron, Louisiana, all the way to the Mississippi-Alabama state line. This area includes New Orleans.
A storm surge warning has been issued for those out of this area but resides between the Texas-Louisiana state line and Alabama-Florida.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said, “Unfortunately, all of Louisiana’s coastline is currently in the forecast cone for Tropical Storm Ida, which is strengthening and could come ashore in Louisiana as a major hurricane as Gulf conditions are conducive for rapid intensification. Now is the time for people to finalize their emergency game plan, which should take into account the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
He recommends that people implement their safety procedures and protocol and fully evacuate from danger zones no later than Saturday night.
“This type of threat contains additional problems because the window to prepare is so short,” the governor later said. “By Saturday evening, everyone should be in the location where they intend to ride out the storm.”
Oil and gas workers were ferried in from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday morning. BP and Royal Dutch Shell each evacuated eight platforms of workers while several other companies did the same.
Schools were let out early, and businesses evacuated as locals began to prepare the city for the major storm.
Though many areas have been issued voluntary evacuations, some areas will fall under mandatory evacuation as of 1030am local time Friday.
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the entire East Bank of Plaquemines Parish and the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish from Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery to Venice.
Orleans Parish also called for a mandatory evacuation for areas outside of the levee protection system.
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