Climate Adaptation
New Orleans Braces for Most Powerful Hurricane Since Katrina
- Landfall expected in southeastern Louisiana Wednesday evening
- Zeta would be the 11th system to make U.S. landfall in 2020
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Zeta rapidly strengthened to a near-Category 3 hurricane with winds of 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour and is threatening to be the worst storm to hit New Orleans since Katrina devastated the city in 2005.
While Zeta isn’t as powerful as Katrina, it will pass directly over the Crescent City, bringing the harshest winds in 15 years, said Jim Rouiller, chief meteorologist at Energy Weather Group LLC. The storm’s track could cause as much as $3 billion in damages, but New Orleans will likely escape massive flooding.