Hurricane Ida: Life-threatening storm set to hit US Gulf Coast on Katrina anniversary

The storm is expected to make landfall on the exact date of Hurricane Katrina landfall which brought devastation to large parts of US coastal areas in 2005.

Weather forecasters have sounded alarm bells over Hurricane Ida which is rapidly approaching the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. The intensifying hurricane is expected to bring winds as high as 225 kmph to these US coastal areas when it makes landfall on Sunday. The National Weather Service warned that the storm surge can cause major damage to houses and pose a “significant threat for drownings.”

The National Weather Service warned that the storm surge can cause major damage to houses and pose a “significant threat for drownings.” (Twitter / @NOAASatellites)

“Listen to local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so. Never drive through water-covered roads,” the US weather agency tweeted.

The storm is expected to make landfall on the exact date of Hurricane Katrina landfall which brought devastation to large parts of US coastal areas in 2005. The National Weather Service said that extremely life-threatening flooding of 10 to 15 feet above ground level is possible within the area from Morgan City in Louisiana, to the Mouth of the Mississippi River.

When Ida reaches the coast of Louisiana, it could turn into an extremely dangerous major hurricane, according to weather forecasters, with potentially catastrophic wind damage possible where the core of Ida moves onshore. The hurricane is likely to trigger heavy rainfall from late Sunday to Monday across the central Gulf Coast from southeast Louisiana to coastal Mississippi, resulting in significant flash and riverine flooding impacts.

Flooding is possible across portions of the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys when Ida moves inland, the NWS said. The weather agency shared a clip of satellite imagery detailing the centre as an eye of the hurricane begins to form.

While hurricane and tropical storm conditions are ending over Cuba, heavy rain across western Cuba is predicted throughout the day today that may lead to flash floods and mudslides.