US: New Orleans Airport halts operations as Hurricane Ida makes a landfall

Hurricane Ida made landfall in the US state of Louisiana on Sunday and soon after, National Weather Services issued an alert warning residents of flash floods throughout the week. Now in the latest development, the Louis Armstrong International Airport, the only airport in the city of New Orleans, has shut down its operations. In a statement issued late on Monday, airport authorities said that all flights have been nixed till Tuesday and urged passengers to get in contact with their carriers. 

Ida, a category 4 storm hit American soil on the same day as Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi and Louisiana 16 years ago. The tropical storm left 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. As of now, two deaths have been reported with one person losing his life after a tree fell upon his home in Prairieville, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

"As #Ida moves inland, heavy rainfall and flooding impacts are expected to spread across the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, the central and southern Appalachians, and Mid-Atlantic through Wednesday, "National Weather Service said in a statement. 

On Monday (local time), the US National Weather Service warned that the flash floods might continue throughout the week as the hurricane proceeded inland. "A Flash Flood Watch has been issued from Tue morning until early Thu morning," it said. 

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.

Rescue Operations

According to the latest update, hundreds of rescue workers set out boats and helicopters to reach people trapped by floodwaters. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, while speaking to the Associated Press (AP), informed about the death of one person and added the hurricane made several roads impassable. Also, Edwards said that the cellphone network has not been working as hurricane-ravaged several mobile towers in the area. The hurricane “came in and did everything that was advertised, unfortunately,” Louisiana Governor said.

Image: AP

(With inputs from AP)