Hurricane Ida: 1 man dead in Louisiana, New Orleans faces blackout as storm moves inland

Hurricane Ida blasted ashore Sunday as one of the most powerful storms to hit the US. The tropical storm landed in the southeastern state of Louisiana, leaving the city of New Orlean in a blackout, obliterating buildings and veering the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed to the country’s one of the most important industrial corridors. In addendum, the storm also led to the death of one man who lost his life after a tree fell upon his home in Prairieville, the Associated Press reported citing Ascension Sheriff. 

Ida, a category 4 storm hit American soil on the same day as Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi and Louisiana 16 years ago. Late on Sunday, the US National Weather Services issued a Flash Flood warning. “Flash flooding is likely to continue in association with Tropical Storm Ida. Some flash flooding may be significant with an additional 4-8" of rain falling in far southeastern Louisiana, much of Mississippi, and southern Alabama,” the agency said in a statement. On Monday, it warned that the flash floods might continue throughout the week as the hurricane proceeded inland. 

Louisiana governor warns against Ida 

“This is going to be much stronger than we usually see and, quite frankly, if you had to draw up the worst possible path for a hurricane in Louisiana, it would be something very, very close to what we’re seeing,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told The Associated Press. Meanwhile, New Orlean’s power provider said that a major transmission tower fell into a river due to Hurricane Ida, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

Pilots film chilling moment of hurricane Ida

According to media reports, Hurricane Ida, which was first seen in the skies, made landfall and ploughed into Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico, causing massive destruction. Heavy rainfall submerged the shoreline under several feet of water. Watching the storm with bare eyes is a difficult task, as only scientists or weather experts who have access to powerful equipment can do it. However, the two pilots managed to film the chilling moment while flowing right inside the erupting hurricane Ida.  As per media reports, the aircraft piercing through the eye of the storm happened over the Gulf of Mexico before it made landfall.

Image: AP