In what is surely one of the cruelest coincidences in weather history, an enormously powerful hurricane is making landfall near New Orleans exactly 16 years to the day that the notorious Hurricane Katrina blew ashore.
This storm, named Ida, had transformed into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before pummeling the southernmost parishes of Louisiana, with many meteorologists predicting that this storm could be just as dangerous as, if not more so than, Katrina herself.
To make matters worse, all of New Orleans lost power almost immediately after the storm made landfall.
All of Orleans Parish was without power Sunday night due to “catastrophic transmission damage,” power company Entergy said.
The city’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness said on Twitter that Entergy confirmed that New Orleans has no power and that the only power in the city was coming from generators.
Extreme wind warnings issued for Hurricane Ida: When does this rare warning get issued?
As Ida barreled through the city Sunday evening, more than 750,000 customers in Louisiana were without power. PowerOutage.us reported 176,000 customers in the dark in Orleans Parish.
At 8 p.m., Jefferson Parish had more than 195,000 customers without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. In nearby Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Bernard, and Terrebonne Parishes, nearly every customer in the parish was without power.
Images of the storm were soon all over social media.
An entire building has just collapsed in New Orleans. These pictures were taken less than 2 hours apart, the first at 5pm and the other at 6:50pm. #HurricaneIda pic.twitter.com/vlNVLm46le
— Laila (@StuvikLaila) August 29, 2021
FLOODING in NOLA: Look at this in Venetian Isles in @CityOfNOLA. This is one area in New Orleans under a *mandatory* evacuation. Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine & Irish Bayou; areas outside the levee protection system. Water is almost up to the stop sign ? @wdsu #HurricaneIda pic.twitter.com/RQ8uMwpWRJ
— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsWESH) August 29, 2021
Y’all … I don’t even know what wizardry this is but it’s terrifying. #HurricaneIda
? Scott Alexander in the New Orleans CBD pic.twitter.com/Yy51B2ECn3
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) August 29, 2021
Nurse captures roof being blown off at OCHSNER main campus. (credit: Courtesy: Chrissy Gottbrath) #HurricaneIda #nola pic.twitter.com/xSM95o1Yj1
— BunChoum (@BunChoum) August 30, 2021
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Louisiana tonight.
