Photos: Hurricane Ida batters Louisiana

Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday afternoon as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm, with 145 mph winds recorded at Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

Angelina Coxum walks down a street in Kenner, Louisiana flooded by Hurricane Ida to check on a relative’s home. Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Sunday but the aftermath effects, including flooding and power outages, continued through Monday.
Photograph by Scott Olson, Getty Images
ByNational Geographic Staff
August 30, 2021
9 min read

Hurricane Ida slammed through Louisiana, leaving at least one person dead and knocking out power to the entire city of New Orleans with a population of 400,000.

The powerful Category 4 storm made landfall at 12:55 p.m. on Sunday near Port Fourchon, about 100 miles south of New Orleans, and was downgraded to a Category 3, then to a tropical storm as it made it way across the state on Monday.

Ida is among the strongest hurricanes to hit the United States with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and its menacing arrival came exactly 16 years after the deadly Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana—killing more than 1,800 people and causing an estimated $100 billion worth of damage.

Ida was classified as "extremely dangerous" by the National Hurricane Center. The overall effects of the storm and its aftermath continue to be assessed.

This is a developing story. This page will be updated regularly with the latest news.

Vehicles drive past a petrol chemical plant near Highway 61 in Norco, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021 after Hurricane Ida made landfall. The Category 4 storm battered the southern state, leaving at least one dead and knocking out power for more than a million people, including the entire city of New Orleans.
Photograph by Patrick T. FALLON, AFP via Getty Images
A man helps a stranded motorist in floodwaters on Beach Boulevard in Biloxi, Mississippi. Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana and brought flooding and wind damage along the Gulf Coast.
Photograph by Sean Rayford, Getty Images
New Orleans Firefighters assess damage as they look through debris after a building collapsed from the effects of Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New Orleans, La. All of New Orleans lost power right around sunset Sunday as the hurricane blew ashore on the 16th anniversary of Katrina, leading to an uneasy night of pouring rain and howling wind. The weather died down shortly before dawn.
Photograph by Eric Gay, AP
A fire chief walks back to his truck. Lights illuminate the heavy rainfall and wind.
Montegut Fire Chief Toby Henry walks back to his fire truck in the rain as firefighters cut through trees on the road in Bourg, Louisiana as Hurricane Ida made its presence known. The powerful Category 4 storm struck the coast of Louisiana with 150 mph winds and was later downgraded to a tropical storm though still classified as "extremely dangerous" by the National Hurricane Center.
Photograph by Mark Felix, AFP via Getty Images
A police detective walks over debris from a destroyed building.
New Orleans Police Detective Alexander Reiter looks over debris on Monday from a building that collapsed during Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. The storm knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities on a deadly path through the Gulf Coast that is still unfolding and promises more destruction.
Photograph by Gerald Herbert, AP Photo
A hotel worker bends down to keep the door from opening during the wind. It's dark out, but the red Exit sign glows.
Hotel staff brace a door to keep it from opening in high winds after the hotel lost power in New Orleans, Louisiana during Hurricane Ida. The Department of Homeland Security said the storm battered the southern state of Louisiana.
Photograph by Patrick T. Fallon, AFP via Getty Images
A view of downtown New Orleans. Some lights are on, but everyone has lost power.
The downtown skyline along Canal Street in New Orleans is largely shrouded in darkness as electricity throughout Orleans Parish was knocked out by Hurricane Ida. Some relied on generators to light buildings. There is concern that the electrical grid could take weeks to repair. Ida blasted though Louisiana 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc.
Photograph by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images
A red truck and the side of a building are ripped up during a storm.
Vehicles are damaged after the front of a building collapsed during Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Photograph by Scott Olson, Getty Images
A man passes a roof that was blown off a building at an intersection. The weather looks gray.
A man passes by a section of roof that was blown off of a building by Hurricane Ida in the French Quarter area of New Orleans.
Photograph by Eric Gay, AP
A man takes pictures of high waves along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Ida nears.
A man uses his cell phone to take pictures of high waves along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana as Hurricane Ida nears landfall on Aug. 29, 2021. Ida arrived on the 16-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and left an estimated $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.
Photograph by Gerald Herbert, AP Photo
There's heavy traffic heading out towards Texas. The weather looks gray and wet.
Traffic moves bumper to bumper along I-10 West as residents evacuate towards Texas before the arrival of Hurricane Ida in Vinton, Louisiana. Photograph taken with a drone.
Photograph by Adrees Latif, Reuters
A grandmother kisses her grandson's forehead with their dog standing next to them.
Ann Colette Boudreaux comforts her grandson, Abel, ahead of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida barreled through Louisiana after making landfall as a powerful Category 4 hurricane Sunday afternoon.
Photograph by Brandon Bell, Getty Images
A young girl blocks her face from the wind as her hair flies around her.
A young girl blocks her face from the wind and rain produced by Hurricane Ida in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Photograph by Eric Gay, AP Photo
Utility workers stand in the wind from Hurricane Ida, hunched over.
Utility workers battle the wind from Hurricane Ida as they wait for the storm to pass to begin repairs in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ida made landfall on Sunday southwest of New Orleans.
Photograph by Scott Olson, Getty Images
A news crew is calf-deep in the water.
A news crew documents effects from Hurricane Ida as storm surge pushes water from Lake Pontchartrain over Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans on August 29, 2021.
Photograph by Michael DeMocker, USA TODAY Network via REUTERS
A person wrapped in a tarp sits under a bus shelter as rain pours around.
A person seeks shelter at a train stop ahead of Hurricane Ida's arrival in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Photograph by Brandon Bell, Getty Images
A man loads supplies in his car.
Terry Shelvin loads a case of water and food into his car in Lafayette, Louisiana as Hurricane Ida approaches on Sunday.
Photograph by David J. Phillip, AP Photo
A family has boarded up their house and waits for the hurricane.
Jean-Luc Bourg, 8, catches a spider in front of his sister Olivia, 10, as his parents Jean Paul and Christina enjoy a glass of wine after boarding up their property in preparation for Hurricane Ida in Morgan City, Louisiana.
Photograph by Adrees Latif, Reuters
Crews re-open a yellow levee gate across a street.
Crews reopen a levee flood gate across Louisiana Route 1 after motorists missed a closure deadline and became trapped ahead of Hurricane Ida in Golden Meadow, Louisiana.
Photograph Luke Sharrett, Bloomberg via Getty Images
A silhouetted bike rider along the river.
A man bikes along the Mississippi River near the French Quarter as the sun rises and the early effects of Hurricane Ida are felt before landfall at Port Fourchon, Louisian shortly before 1 p.m. eastern standard time on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds.
Photograph by Eric Gay, AP Photo
A line of sandbags block a street.
Rain soaks a wall of sandbags in Montegut, Louisiana before Hurricane Ida makes landfall on August 29, 2021.
Photograph by Mark Felix, AFP via Getty Images

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