Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana Sunday as a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane, killing at least one and knocking out power to over a million people in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The storm made landfall just before noon Saturday near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, with sustained winds of 150 mph. After dipping back over the Gulf, Ida made a second landfall just southwest of Galliano, Louisiana.
Hurricane Ida is being blamed for at least one death. Authorities say a person was killed by a fallen tree in Ascension Parish, west of New Orleans.
As the storm closed in on New Orleans late Sunday, it dropped to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum winds of 110 mph. Power in the Crescent City was completely knocked out.
More than 930,000 customers were left without electricity across Louisiana, and 28,000 in Mississippi.
Roads were covered in water and buildings were torn apart by the storm. Forecasters warned of life-threatening flash flooding. The storm surge and winds were so powerful, they reversed the flow of the Mississippi River for about four hours Sunday, U.S. Geological Survey data showed.
President Joe Biden approved the state of Louisiana’s request for a major federal disaster declaration.
Biden’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in 25 parishes, according to a White House statement Sunday.
“Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” the statement said.
Ida arrived 16 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina first made landfall in southern Louisiana — causing over 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage across the region.
This article has been updated
