Hurricane Ida makes landfall as a Category 4 storm

published 29 August 2021

Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Sunday as a Category 4 storm, the National Hurricane Center said. Top sustained winds are still clocking in at 150 miles per hour.

Some of those winds have reportedly reached New Orleans at over 35 mph, and Mayor LaToya Cantrell has said everyone still in the city must remain inside until after at least tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, New Orleans' health director, said hospitals and health care systems are hunkering down, meaning first responders will be unable to reach people. She warned residents against trying to get to health facilities at this time.

Sunday is also the 16th anniversary of when the devastating Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, so CBS News meteorologist Jeff Berardelli broke down how the two systems differ from each other. Katrina was a larger storm, with less extreme winds, but it brought a lot of water with it, creating a deadly 28-foot storm surge. Ida, on the other hand, has fiercer winds. Its storm surge won't be as significant, but it could still reach 16 feet, a serious figure in its own right.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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