Officials order residents to evacuate areas, as Ida reaches hurricane status

By Bisola Adeyemo

As Tropical Storm Ida was upgraded to a hurricane on Friday afternoon, officials in U.S have ordered communities to evacuate areas to a safe place.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Ida reached hurricane status much more quickly than forecasters had expected.

Ida’s center made landfall on Cuba’s Isle of Youth when it was declared a hurricane Friday afternoon.

John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency on Thursday across coastal communities in Louisiana, Mississippi , Alabama, with cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge on Thursday night .

Reuters quotes him as saying “Unfortunately, Louisiana is forecast to get a direct, strong hit from Tropical Storm #Ida, which is compounded by our current fourth surge of COVID-19. This is an incredibly challenging time for our state,” Edwards wrote on Twitter.

Officials in Louisiana’s Lafourche Parish said they would enact a voluntary evacuation, especially for people in low-lying areas, mobile homes and RVs. Hurricane force winds of about 110 mph with gusts of 130 mph could hit the state, forecasters said.

“By Saturday evening, everyone should be in the location where they intend to ride out the storm,” Edwards said

According to Cuba’s meteorology institute, Ida would cause storm surges as far east as Havana. The governor of the Isle of Youth Adian Morera said an evacuation center was ready to receive families in the main town of Nueva Gerona, and sea vessels had already been secured along the coast.