IDA SLAMS INTO NEW ORLEANS

By Staff Writer

There's unease in the 'Big Easy' as residents of New Orleans begin surveying the damage left behind by Hurricane Ida.

As Monday dawned emergency services were beginning to assess what if feared could be colossal damage from the most powerful hurricane in over 100 years which slammed into the southern American city overnight on Sunday.

Hurricane Ida made landfall at full Category 4 strength with sustained winds of 140 mph with gusts to 150 mph.

Power was knocked out across the entire city. More than one million customers in Louisiana alone were without power, including all of New Orleans, where catastrophic damage occurred to the city's transformers.

While damage is feared to be extensive, there was some early relief that only one death has been reported although it's still uncertain of other might have perished in the storm.

Hurricane Katrina which struck New Orleans on the same date in 2005 killed over 1,800 people and caused immense damage flooding after the city's flood barriers failed.

It's yet to be determined how effective the reconstructed and reinforced flood barriers were in Hurricane Ida.

There have been reports of the deluge from Ida already overflowing some parts of the storm barriers called levees.

A storm surge in excess of 15 feet was reported in some low-lying coastal areas.

Thousands of people evacuated to safety out of the hurricane's path but many others stayed in their homes.

While the threat of severe weather had passed New Orleans, authorities warned residents that it was not safe to leave their homes on Monday.

Some residents, trapped in their attics or rooftops, posted their addresses on social media in an attempt to be rescued.

Adding to the challenges brought by Hurricane Ida, are reports of damage and power outages in hospitals already struggling with a surge of COVID-19 patients.

US President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in the state, which qualifies it for extra funds for rescue and recovery.

Ida weakened to a tropical storm early Monday, and is moving to Mississippi as officials warned of life-threatening flash flooding and dangerous storm surges over parts of southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and southern Alabama. Tornado threats also continued across the central Gulf states, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters expect that winds and heavy rainfall from the storm will cut a further swathe of destruction as its swings north-east across several states with the likelihood of reaching as far as Washington DC and New York.