Hurricane Ida to hit US badly by Sunday

The mayor from New Orleans has already called for the evacuation of the residents from the unprotected city. This decision is coming after the risk of Hurricane Ida, which is bearing down on the coastline of Louisiana.

According to the mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, this is the right time for the evacuation. He is suggesting those who are living outside the city leave. The National Hurricane Center says Ida is more likely to become a very major and dangerous hurricane. It is about to land by Sunday. It is already causing heavy rain and high winds in the regions of western Cuba.

The impact of frequent climate change on storms is still unclear. But the increase of the sea surface temperature is warming the air above, which makes more energy available to give birth to hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones. They are more likely to cause extreme rainfall.

Forecasters say that this hurricane will be in the category of 4 strengths when it reaches the northern coast of Mexico. Benjamin Schott, the national Weather Service Methodologist, said that this would be a life-threatening one. Ida passed over Cuba on Friday. It has hit the Isle of Youth with its wind capacity of 75 mph.

Sunday marks the 16th anniversary of the famous Hurricane Katrina. It destroyed New Orleans in 2005 after its landfall as a category. It flooded 80% of the city. Also, it killed at least more than 1800 people.

There is also the forecast of the dangerous storm approaching both in Cuba and in the US. If they hit at the same time with the high tides, seawater will flood over the New Orleans levee system.

Warm water across the Gulf of Mexico is fuelling up this intensification of the storm.

“Steady to rapid strengthening is expected when Ida moves over the south-eastern and central Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, and Ida is expected to be a major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast,” said the NHC bulletin issued on Friday afternoon.

Governor Bel Edwards came up with the declaration of a state of emergency near the coastline. The Federal Government is also working on making emergency plans.

Credits: BBC