NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Ida is rapidly intensifying early Sunday morning.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the system has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, which makes it a Category 4 hurricane. A Category 5 hurricane has winds of 157 mph or higher, and Ida may reach that or be close to it at landfall.
Ida will move inland across Louisiana Sunday afternoon. It arrives on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s ruinous strike on the Gulf Coast.
Ida’s threat has forced emergency officials to prepare shelters for evacuees forced from their homes amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the state is working to shelter many people in hotels to reduce risks of spreading the virus.
