Ida Batters Louisiana, Cutting Off All Power for New Orleans
- Storm will test levees rebuilt after Katrina devastation
- ‘I feel sick to my stomach watching’ hurricane forecaster says
This article is for subscribers only.
Hurricane Ida barreled into the Louisiana coast on Sunday, packing winds more powerful than Hurricane Katrina and a “catastrophic” storm surge that left New Orleans without power and facing mass flooding and destruction.
The storm roared ashore as a Category 4 hurricane at 11:55 a.m. local time near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, with top winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center said. It was reduced to Category 3 as it moved inland, though it was forecast to remain a hurricane throughout the night.