and the worst could be yet to come. rolling tornado warnings. highways under water and storm surges that could reach more than ten feet. all of this danger 16 years to the day after hurricane catrin arrived on louisiana s shores. cnn is on the scene across the gulf coast. let s start with brian todd in new orleans, a city all too familiar with hurricane devastation. we can see the winds are picking up. a short time ago, emergency services were suspended there. what can you tell us? jim, the intensity has really picked up in the last hour since i last spoke to you. you can see some debris flying down the street here in the french quarter. debris everywhere as the winds have really intensified. take a look down the street. see some of this debris. i m going to pivot this way and our photo journalist is going to take you through this. look at this collapsed roof. it came down across this intersection. insulation and all of this stuff, it was a very violent
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you are live in the cnn newsroom.osta in washington. we re following breaking news. hurricane ida is pummeling louisiana today after making landfall near port fourchon a short time ago. now officially tied for the strongest storm ever to hit the state with 115-mile-per-hour winds. the extremely dangerous category 4 storm is thrashing the air. it s so strong, ida overpowered the mighty mississippi river, partially reversing the flow of the river near new orleans. officials across louisiana are warning if you are near the eye of the storm, help is not on the way. one new orleans official saying if you call 911 because you want someone to get to you, quote, i m sorry. we re passed that point.
through. leo, i want to ask you this, because we see these ima imagines of the flag-draped coffins, we see the images of this hurricane that is battering louisiana and the gulf coast right now. what does this moment shouldn t this moment remind us all that at the end of the day we are all in this together, we are all americans? you know, we ve had a really tough week in america. this should be a time that we should all come together. lara, i can t say it any better. i mean, you look at what makes america great is our collective togetherness. you see the outpouring of sympathy and concern for those americans overseas, you look at what s happening and the dover memorial there was beautiful. i watched the entire thing. and then you look at what is happening in new orleans. this country is so powerful, the potential is so unique, the collective diversity is so powerful it just makes me
newsroom. i m jim acosta in washington. we re following breaking news this hour. louisiana getting slammed right now by hurricane ida which made landfall just hours ago as an extremely dangerous category 4 storm. to put it simply, ida is every bit as serious as forecasters predicted. maybe even worse. we re talking about winds of 145 miles per hour. life-threatening storm surge and torrential rain. extensive flooding in some areas already. grand isle, louisiana, that is just for starters. this all happening 16 years to the day that hurricane katrina made landfall in the state of louisiana. statewide, more than 400,000 customers, 400,000 customers without power. that number expected to keep rising as the storm moves inland. ida is now tied with hurricane laura as the strongest storm ever to hit louisiana. we re tracking this from every angle with our team of reporters. jason carroll live in houma,