Service warns tHe damage from ida could be, quote, catastrophic. Hello, welcome to Fox News live. Im artHel neville. Eric hi, thank you for joining us with tHe late breaking news. Im eric shawn. Hurricane ida came ashore just before noon local time as a category 4 monster, sustained winds just under category 5, 150 miles per hour. Thousands of Gulf Coast residents have already evacuated, thank goodness, after tHe warnings tHe storm could be as bad to make rescues impossible. ArtHel and all of this, 16 years to tHe day after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in louisiana as a category 3, bringing scenes of devastation in New Orleans and tHe Gulf Coast that quite frankly we wish we could forget. Eric absolutely. Cant believe its only been 16 years for all tHe Storm Coverage lets begin in New Orleans, Jeff Paul is tHere in French Quarter with tHe very latest. Jeff. Reporter yeah, eric and artHel, tHe winds are really starting to pick up. THe rain is coming down pretty hard and you can see just what some of tHese strong gusts did to what was presumably a Portion Or Part of a roof. It flew over Here onto He-street'>THe Street, near tHe French Quarter, and it snapped a Traffic Signal Right off tHe top. You can see if you look up throughout this piece of Roof And Insulation that it what has blown off, what it did to tHe metal traffic signal. For folks thinking about going out in tHe storm, things is what Emergency Crews warn about, something like this happening wHere you have a huge piece of a Roof Or Something Metal Or Trash can blowing through tHe air. It becomes a projectile. THey hope people tHereon tHe warning and stay inside. THe mayor talking about that a short while ago. Take a listen. Were not going to be able to come to you. You need to stay inside until tomorrow. Well look at this at tHe First Light of day. Our Emergency Operation Center is activated, we have 70 people up tHere. THeyre risking covid. THeyre communicating. Reporter now, so throughout tHe day this is something we will be keeping an eye on, not only tHe strong winds but tHe rain thats coming in Here. Havent had any reports of any major flooding Here in New Orleans proper but we are Hearing reports along tHe coast of louisiana of flooding, Hurricane Ida moving closer and closer to some of tHe bigger cities like Baton Rouge and nor leaves. Again, this is just New Orleans. Again, this is just tHe start of tHe storm. It just made landfall a few hours ago. THeyre expecting remnants of tHe storm and impact of tHe Storm To be felt for several hours throughout tHe night. Were Hearing about Tens Of Thousands of people already without Power And Youve got to think about that going on for tHe next few days, especially with crews not being able to get to places like New Orleans because of things like this, downed roofs or trees or any sort of debris thats in He-street'>THe Street that prevents a big truck from coming in and restoring power to many residents. We havent Heard of any injuries but its still very early on in this storm. Back to you. Eric that it is. Tens of thousands without power. More likely to come. Lets go to tHe north, Baton Rouge, wHere tHe governor John Bel Edwards is giving a briefing. We can assure you that you soon will. If youre sHeltering in place, please make sure that youre in tHe most secure place possible in your home, some interior space, and tHen please make it your business to stay tHere until tHe danger passes. And because of tHe possibility of severe winds will damage your home, it is a good idea to have a mattress nearby that you can use to put over yourself and otHer Family Members to protect you from any falling debris. We urge you not to be tempted to go outside, to take a look at Start Sightseeing and for Goodness Sake dont drive around right now. It just isnt worth it. THe same really goes by for tHe immediate aftermath of tHe storm, after it has passed by, because tHere will be downed Power Lines. THeres going to be standing water. THeres going to be debris, otHer dangers and quite frankly we cant tell you yet how soon it will be before first responders are going to be able to respond to calls for assistance. So please dont go out and tHe extent to which individuals decide to get out and about will inhibit tHe flow of first responders and Search And Rescue assets, high water vehicles and so forth. So please be patient. Once tHe storm has passed, you need to be prepared to sHelter in place for tHe first 72 hours. We have every possible resource ready to go to Help you. Well get tHere sooner than 72 hours if at all possible in order to rescue people across tHe state of louisiana. But this is tHe window of time that it may take in order to get first responders to you, depending upon conditions. You should know that tHe entireity of tHe Louisiana National Guard has been activated and currently more than 4,900 guardsmen are out in support of current operations. Just on tHe Search And Rescue assets of tHe national guard, tHeyre staged across 14 parisHes, have 195 high water vehicles, 73 boats and 34 Helicopters, ready to support and assist tHe citizens of louisiana. THere remain 169 Hery'>Wildlife And FisHery agents with trucks and boats in tHe same number, in order to do Search And Rescue and tHe most robust Search And Rescue effort that we have consists of more than 900 individuals making up 21 teams that are represented by 16 different states. And tHe numbers that i just gave you include tHe Louisiana State Fire Marshals Office and tHeir boats. THe Department Of Transportation has assembled 164 poacHers and 20para transit vehicles. 185 coacHes will be available by Tomorrow Morning. THe department of corrections, our prisons produced more than 34,000 bags for communities across south louisiana. THeyve also completed tHe evacuation of 2500 inmates from seven local jails, those being acadia, orleans, Saint Mary and terebone parisHes. THey continue to monitor gates across tHe coastal zone. A total of 459 gates out of 692 are closed. Thats up 246 since tHe briefing yesterday. All of our Hurricane Protection systems have been fully im sorry, have been completely closed and all structures are fully operational at this time. As late as this morning, additional protection measures were being undertaken by Levee Districts such as tHe south levee district, tHey actually completed Heet-pile'>SHeet Pile and sandbagging operations to address low areas aHead of tHe storm. Based on tHe Hurricane Track and tHe wind, Rain And Surge forecast for tHe remainder of tHe hurricane, tHe cpra is anticipating some overtopping of tHe soutHeast portions of tHe La Rose to golden meadow Levee System, nonfederal backed levees around middle Grove And Alliance and Plakamans Parish and Saint Bernard Parish as well and obviously overtopping is concerning. I want to make sure everybody understands Overtopping And Levee failure are not tHe same thing and a Levee Failure can be much more catastrophic and so tHey are not tHe same thing. Obviously, were going to continue to monitor this flood protection system. I can tell you right now, we do not anticipate any overtopping of tHe Mississippi River levees or overtopping of tHe levees in tHe Hurricane Risk Reduction system around tHe greater New Orleans area. Clearly, youve seen tHe reports and up until a short while ago i was able to look at live video feeds. THere are very significant Storm Surge impacts around Port Fushon and Grand Isle as well as point la hash. THere will be Flood Fighting assets to coastal areas in needs of dewatering as soon as its Safe To do so. This is obviously a very fluid situation, it is rapidly changing and thats why everyone needs to stay abreast by Listening To News and following tHe guidance from your local officials. Really, nobody in Heast-louisiana'>SoutHeast Louisiana should be out on tHe roads. But if travel becomes absolutely necessary after tHe storm, please proceed with extreme caution. THere will be hazards out tHere that you may experience before any Law Enforcement or d. O. T. Personnel or anybody else may be able to get to first and warn you about it. This is especially true of debris, downed Power Lines and standing water. Please cHeck 511, la. Org for Road Closures and please dont drive through standing water. Thats how we lose an awful lot of people after storms. Many parisHes are announcing curfew as we speak, so all louisianafs should follow directives of local leaders which are obviously designed to keep us all safe and tHe conditions vary by parish and tHey have different considerations in mind so please honor tHese curfews and avoid needless risk to your own safety and that of your family and please again keep streets clear for emergency responders. If you have every actuated evacuated, dont attempt tomorrow to return before you know that it is okay for you to do so. Please contact your office of Emergency Preparedness or monitor any announcement tHey have as to wHetHer it is tHe right time for you to return. THe last count that i had shortly before coming over Here, we have 1542 individuals sHeltered across tHe state, in 23 different sHelters, tHe vast majority are operated by parisHes. Obviously we expect this number to increase throughout tHe day and potentially in tHe days to come. As people discover that tHeir homes are no longer habitable. For tHe latest Helter-information'>SHelter Information, Helter'>Text La SHelter to 898211 or you can call 211. Heed tHe guidance of local officials, local officials will have tHe most uptodate Helter-information'>SHelter Information for a specific area or parish. As we have mentioned several times before, if you lose electricity and you decide to use a generator, it is imperative that you follow tHe instructions from tHe manufacturer. Please make sure that generator is well away from your home in a wellventilated area. It should not be inside, shouldnt be in a Garage Or Crawl space, under a window or a vent. And on Occasion Youll Need to refuel tHe generator. Please make sure that you allow it to cool off 20 minutes before doing so. In closing and before i take some questions, tHere is No Doubt that tHe coming days and weeks are going to be extremely difficult for our state. And many, many people are going to be tested in ways that we can only imagine today. But i can also tell you that as a state, weve never been more prepared. Again, all tHe models that weve seen from tHe Army Corps of engineers and from our own cpra show that Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System will hold and perform as intended. Will it be tested . Yes. But it was built for this moment. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in tHe team that weve assembled at tHe state level, all tHe local officials and first responders and our federal partners and by tHe way, i want to thank fema regional administrator Tony Robinson for coming out of texas to embed with us Here and i can tell you a short while ago i had a call with Administrator Criswell of fema In Washington and sHe is very closely watching whats happening Here, coordinating with us and already has various things en route so that we can employ tHem just as soon as possible. Things like generators and so forth. So i have a tremendous amount of confidence in our team, all tHe state and local officials and our federal partners but i want you to know i also have confidence in tHe people of louisiana. THey always continue to inspire me with tHeir goodness and tHeir decency and generosity. I know tHeyll do everything tHey can to protect tHemselves and tHeir families and tHeir neighbors, especially those who may have special needs, maybe tHeyre elderly, so forth. Please make sure you cHeck on tHem and stay safe and i know it may not seem this way right now for many people out tHere across our state, but tHere is always light after darkness and i can assure you were going to get through this and i do invite everyone to offer up a prayer for our state, for tHe people of our state, that we get through this just as soon as possible and in tHe best possible shape with tHe least loss of life. You know, property is replaceable. Lives are not. So that is obviously our first order of priority. So im going to stop tHere and take a few questions and please feel free to direct your questions to any of tHe people that we have assembled Here and depending on what you ask me i may ask tHem to come up and answer tHe question anyway. Yes. [ indiscernible ] its weatHer dependent and quite frankly before tHe weatHer gets good enough for us to respond, its going to also be dark. So what i can tell you what our expectation is that we will be ready at First Light Tomorrow Morning to go out to those areas that we know already have received tHe most damaging impacts from tHe storm, principally wind and Storm Surge. You mentioned Grand Isle. I can tell you that tHe video that ive seen and tHe reports that ive received are just tremendous amounts of Storm Surge tHere and wind damage. THe good news is, i Hesitate to give you a Figure But Something like 98 of Grand Isle evacuated. And tHe people who are tHere i believe stayed back in structures that are specifically designed and built to withstand tHese types of forces. But i have No Doubt were going to see extreme devastation, Grand Isle and elsewHere, but will likely be sometime after First Light Tomorrow Morning before we can get up in tHe air and get vehicles down tHere and of course youve got to travel la1. I dont know if You Saw tHe Video But La1 was not in good shape in tHe area earlier so we will be working that as quickly as we possibly can and in all likelihood traveling to Grand Isle and elsewHere in that vicinity via Helicopter. [ indiscernible ] okay. So i can tell you no tier 1 hospitals have been evacuated. Tier 1 hospital is what we commonly think of as a hospital. By definition, we have some rehab hospitals, we have some behavioral Health hospitals and tHese are typically much smaller and tHe patients needs are not as acute and we have evacuated four such hospitals and since im on it, ill tell you weve evacuated 22 nursing homes, 18 Assisted Living Facilities and 61 intermediate Care Facilities as well. No hospitals have been evacuated, tier 1 hospitals, because simply put, tHeres nowHere to bring those individuals. THeyre in a hospital because tHey need that setting and we dont have tHe capacity elsewHere. I mentioned yesterday that over tHe previous 11 days or so, weve been able to achieve a 20 reduction in our covid Inpatient Census across tHe state of louisiana. THe good news is, almost all of that happened in Heast-louisiana'>SoutHeast Louisiana. But tHeres still 2,450 covid patients in our hospitals across tHe state, in addition to all tHe otHer patients that remain in our hospitals. And that is a much higHer number than we ever experienced in tHe first three surges and so its still a very daunting situation and quite frankly were concerned as we have been for a long time about staffing but you know, tHese storms have an impact on staffing too. In terms of do tHey have to evacuate with tHeir family for some reason, does tHeir Home Rehab Itable so tHey can live at home and go to work. We have a lot of work to do. We have no higHer priority than to make sure our hospitals can remain in operation and functional and thats going to be a challenge because we expect widespread Power Outage for some time but we know that tHey have generators, we know that tHey have stocked up on Fuel And Water and food and on pharmaceuticals, things like oxygen and so forth but, quite frankly, we know that tHe longer tHe power stays out, tHe more challenging this is going to be and tHe more devastation in an area, tHe harder its going to be for tHem to have tHe staffing tHey need and one of tHe challenges that were having is we actually had staff, additional staff coming in from outofstate yesterday, pursuant to contracts that we have executed and tHe Staff Wasnt able to get in because tHey didnt have any place to stay. THere wasnt a Hotel Room open anywHere. And so that was a real challenge and so i guess i say this artHel so that is Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards telling us all tHe preparations tHere in louisiana. He has confidence that tHe levees will hold up mainly to report tHere. Now we want to go to President Biden who is waiting for tHe governor to finish his briefing and now President Biden is visiting tHe Headquarters'>Fema Headquarters tHere in d. C. To get an assessment of what tHeyre working on tHere and also seems like Hes talking to everyone, perhaps a little president ial encouragement if you will. And lets listen in. THe fema administrator, really quickly, this is tHe national Response Coordination Center wHere we have 22 federal interagency partners that have been gatHered Here since earlier in tHe week to support tHe Planning And Preparedness efforts for Louisiana And Mississippi as well as any otHer states that might be impacted by Hurricane Ida. As you know, this made landfall as very strong category 4 hurricane a few hours ago and we are expecting catastrophic impacts from this. I have spoken to both tHe mayor of New Orleans as well as tHe governor of louisiana a few hours ago and we have teams embedded with tHem so we can respond quickly as soon as we know what tHe impacts are. We should start to see some of those impacts tonight but we wont have tHe real picture until tomorrow and tHen we can start moving additional resources in. With that, ill give it to tHe president. Thank you. Well, folks, youve got your hands full, youve done an incredible job so far preparing for this. Jill and i are just getting back from Dover Air Force Base, my home state, wHere we met with tHe families of 13 fallen Heroes in afghanistan. Who lost tHeir lives in tHe service of our Country And While were praying for tHe best in louisiana, lets keep tHem in our prayers as well. Ive just been briefed by Fema Leadership and we have real leadership on Hurricane Ida and tHe preparations for rescue and response. And tHe storm has made as you know better than anyone but im thinking of tHe public at large Here, He-storm-made-landfall'>THe Storm Made Landfall a few hours ago and it continues to ravage everything it comes in contact with. THe storm is a life threatening storm. Governor edwards categorized it as one of tHe strongest hurricanes in louisiana history, since 1850 and devastation is likely to be immense. We shouldnt kid ourselves. THe most important thing i can say right now is that everyone, everyone should listen to tHe instructions from local and state officials, just how dangerous this is and take it seriously. Its not just tHe coast. Its not just New Orleans. Its north as well, tHe rainfall is expected to be exceedingly high. THe people of tHe Gulf Coast, i want you to know that were praying for tHe best and planning, prepared for tHe worst. As soon as tHe storm passes were going to put this were going to put tHe countrys full might behind tHe Rescue And Recovery and i mean that. Ive been around for a lot of hurricanes and im no expert but ive been around for a lot of hurricanes and i dont think weve ever had as much preparation, longterm preparation with Levee System and preparation Here. Thanks to tHe administrators, leadership and tHe hard work of tHe fema team, all of whom are gatHered behind me, many who are gatHered behind me. Weve already Prepro Significanced resources that we know are going to be needed and prepartly sunny positioned resources we know are going to be needed. This includes 2. 5 million meals, 3 Million liters of water, weve got generators in place and were in close touch with tHe Power Providers to get and restore power as soon as possible because a lot of its going to go out and we should be prepared that it could take a long time no matter how much we preposition, which we have, that its going to take a long time for a lot of it to get back up. It could take a matter of weeks for some places. Weve got 13 urban Search And Rescue teams, for those who arent familiar with that, tHese teams make up about 70 minutes, experts in each of tHese teams and tHey can do real serious recovery work. More than 100 ambulances and emergency medical teams have been activated and were working with tHe Red Cross and local partners to open dozens and dozens of sHelters with cots and blankets and meals to support those we need to evacuate. That will happen mostly nortHern part of tHe state and maybe parts of mississippi. And ive already signed an Emergency Declaration for both louisiana as well as mississippi. And i want to make sure that were ready to surge all tHe Response Capacity Capability that we have to deal with whatever comes next and a lots going to be coming. Ive been in touch with tHe governors of alabama, Mississippi And Louisiana and my team at tHe White House has been in touch with otHer state, local and federal officials in tHe region and tHey know, tHey know tHere will be tHe full resources and support of tHe federal government. So i want to emphasize again, this is going to be a devastating, a devastating hurricane. A lifethreatening storm. So please all you folks in Mississippi And Louisiana, Mississippi And God knows, maybe even furtHer east, take precautions, listen. Take it seriously. Really, very seriously. And you know, tHe whole of Government Effort is ready to get to work. I Cant Think of any time wHere tHe federal, state and local folks have worked more closely and in advance of a significant Natural Disaster and folks, were going to be Here. Were going to be Here to Help tHe Gulf Region get back on its feet as quickly as possible as long as it takes. As long as it takes. So thank you and may god protect those in tHe path of tHe Storm And God willing well get through this sooner than later. But dont kid yourself. This is going to take a lot of resources, a little bit of luck, and as my grandfatHer would say, tHe grace of god and good will of neighbors. By tHe way, look out for your neighbors. If youre in tHe region, look out for your neighbors. Thank you very much. I thank all our im not supposed to take any questions but go aHead. Mr. President , On Afghanistan im not going to answer afghanistan now. Could you say if tHeres still an acute risk. ArtHel tHere is President Biden tHere at fema Led Quarters in d. C. , as You Saw, refusing to answer questions tHere about afghanistan at He-end'>THe End of tHe briefing but He did at tHe toy. Acknowledge tHe families of tHe fallen soldiers who were just brought back home to Dover Air Force Base in Casket Draped Coffins so He wanted us to remember that while He has a handle on that horrible disaster and Hes now thanking fema efforts tHere in d. C. For all tHeir hard work. He said He has signed Emergency Declarations for tHe states of Louisiana And Mississippi and that equipment and personnel, resources are being supplied by tHe government, 2. 5 million meals, 3 Million gallons of water, generators are in place and He is also working with governor edwards as well in terms of Post Storm preparations as you Heard governor John Bel Edwards earlier say that residents in louisiana, stay in place, dont go out and also not just while tHe storm is overHead or on tHe Head'>Way Or OverHead but even after because thats wHere a lot of problems will remain with Power Lines down, dont walk in or drive into flooded streets because you dont know what lies beneath. So a lot going on Here. It seems that all leaders seem to have a handle on it and tHeyre also calling on residents to look out for tHeir fellow neighbors, most importantly, and prayers up for everybody including tHe troops. And eric, i believe we have a guest now. Eric that is true. Talking about and remembering and honoring tHe troops even though tHe president at that moment did not want to talk about it. He did talk about prepartly sunny positioning assets because of tHe hurricane. Thousands of people Headed off to otHer areas to get out of tHe way of tHe storm. Not everybody listened to those warnings. A lot of people still sHeltering in place, not able to get out or to leave New Orleans wHere tHe mayor said that people should leave but if youre still tHere of Helter'>Course SHelter in place. We Heard tHe advice from tHe governor to actually take a mattress to protect yourself in Case Everything is falling. Steven polin of tHe Coast Guard is with us. THe president talked about prepositioning assets. Tell us about tHe Coast Guard. Youre ready for rescues, wHen could you do it. Thank you for having me. Our thoughts are with those next folks in louisiana, mississippi, directly impacted by tHe storm. As tHe president noted weve been hard at work preparing for this storm for a number of days. We prepositioned assets in houston and mobile, primarily. We have 37 Helicopters, 17 planes in houston and galveston. Our Coat Guard is at a three point stance, ready to respond. Im proud of our preparations. Eric do you know wHere tHe assets will be needed and what you will send tHere . We dont yet. We dont have a good understanding yet of who is in distress, how many people didnt evacuate. But as soon as were able to, were going to fly overflight surveys, were going to get aircraft up and moving, were going to launch from mobile wHere im located and also in houston. And tHen as weatHer permits well move those closer to tHe impact area so we can respond more quickly. Eric especially in katrina, man, oh, Man You Guys did rescues of folks trapped in attics who had to punch holes in tHeir roofs, up on tHe roofs of tHeir houses. Hopefully that wont happen this time. We lived through that. Thats what tHeyre trained for . Well, as tHe president said, were hoping for tHe best. But were prepared for tHe worst and as you can see behind me, tHese are tHe Helicopters that responded in katrina. Weve got trained crews. Weve got Heroic Men And Women who are going to operate tHese Helicopters, our planes, also our boats. We have 33 shallow Water Response teams in louisiana, mississippi and alabama, teams can Help complement and integrate with urban Search And Rescue teams. Eric you even have shallow boats in memphis. This is such a big storm it could cause flooding throughout tHe soutHeast region. Exactly. What we had to do was be very thoughtful about wHere we prepositioned tHe assets. We want tHe assets to be safe and close enough for immediate response wHen necessary. Eric ida had landfall at Port Bushon which handles 20 of tHe Nations Oil Refinery capacity. Any reports you have about that, how tHe Oil Facilities and tHe oil rigs, 500 plus out on tHe gulf, how tHeyve been faring . I know tHe Offshore Industry activated emergency plans. We dont have a full picture of whats going on in tHe offshore area because tHe Her-hasnt'>WeatHer Hasnt allowed our aircraft to get out tHere. Im hopeful we may have an aircraft up later this afternoon wHen tHe weatHer allows and well get a much more complete picture. But youre right, this will have significant impacts on both tHe energy sectors and marine transportation sectors. For example, tHe Coast Guard had to close tHe ports of mobile, gulf port, New Orleans and homa just because we wanted to minimize tHe rick of obstructions or damage to tHe ports and well work hard to get those open as soon as possible. Eric from your experience and your training, what do you foresee happening over tHe next few days, if you can give us a preview, roll that out . Well, i think as tHe president said and tHe governor also said, this is a devastating storm. Its catastrophic. Our Coast Guard Men And Women are going to respond as long as it takes to ensure tHe safety of life, to clean up any Oil Pollution or hazardous materials that impacted tHe marine waterways and get tHe ports open as soon as possible. I spent a lot of time on tHe Gulf Coast. I know how important it is to get those ports and waterways open so were going to focus on those three lines of effort. Eric we thank tHe Men And Women of tHe Coast Guard, doing tHe service, protecting our nation and saving countless lives. Vice Admiral Steven Pollin thank you for your service to our country as we stand by and wait for your Help. ArtHel Help will be needed as millions under threat from Hurricane Ida, tHe most powerful Storm To hit tHe Gulf Coast in over 150 years. Live shots Here from New Orleans. Heavy winds definitely in tHe area and reports across tHe region, Heavy wind tHere as tHe latest on wHere ida is coming up or Heading, well have that for you after this very short break. I always wanted to know more about my grandfatHer. He. Was a hardworking man who came to New York from Puerto Rico wHen He was 17. With ancestry, being able to put tHe pieces of tHe puzzle togetHer. Its amazing. Its honestly amazing. Eric its now about two andahalf hours after Hurricane Ida made landfall as one of tHe most powerful category 4 storms ever to hit tHe u. S. To tHe east, many residents of tHe states capital, Baton Rouge, tHeyre choosing to stay and hunker down despite tHe national Her-service-warning'>WeatHer Service Warning that ida will be a life altering storm. Casey siegel is live from Baton Rouge, with how tHeyre making preparations. Hi, casey. Reporter Hey, eric. You can see what a stark contrast to my background versus my colleagues down tHere in New Orleans. We are 81 miles to tHe northwest of New Orleans wHere tHe storm is clearly making its landfall and moving inland. But its on tHe way, you can see not even raining Here at tHe moment in Baton Rouge. Look at that live shot now you of tHe mighty mississippi. You see a little bit of white caps out tHere but nothing considerable yet. As i said, it is on tHe way. This will not last long, tHe bulk of this storm will pass right over us tonight and in tHe overnight hours as eitHer a category 2 or a category 1 storm and that is after being on land for some 70 miles. Usually safe from tHe real brunt of hurricanes, thousands evacuated Baton Rouge, fearing what Hurricane Ida will bring. Thousands of otHers decided to stay and hunker down. THen tHere are those who have to stay because tHey have a job to do. We met tHese guys, Railroad Workers who say tHey will ride out tHe storm in tHese trailers. So wHen its over, tHey can get tHe railroad back up and running. Listen. Its got you got to hope for something. THeyre not as Heavy as tHey look. For tHe most part you pray and hope everything comes well and you come out like you go in, yes, maam, walking. Reporter South And East of Here, Saint Bernard Parish, Heavy rains and surge have already caused localized Street Flooding tHere as its coming down sideways, so really tHe worst is yet to come for so many otHer communities that are in idas path. Just because we talk about a Category 4 Storm Making Landfall and that that happened hours ago certainly does not mean that this is over. We cant reiterate that enough. This is going to be going for quite some time, impacting a lot of people. Eric. Eric its a great reminder, wHetHer its tHe railroads or tHe power, tHere are a lot of people behind tHe scenes who risk tHemselves to get everything up and running like tHe gentleman you interviewed. All right, casey. Reporter absolutely. Eric thanks so much. ArtHel Assumption Parish, louisiana, west of New Orleans, is one of tHe many areas of tHe gulf which is under mandatory evacuation orders. Officials warned anyone who did not follow orders to evacuate may not be Help may not be available until after tHe Storm T worst of it has passed. Well bring in John Budroe tHe director of Emergency Preparedness. Whats tHe weatHer like tHere now . Its starting to get bad. We probably have winds of sustained 40 miles an hour, gusting up to probably 50 to 60 right now but were still about three to four hours away from tHe worst of it. ArtHel i know youre prepared. Tell us about your plans that youve put in place and how are those preparations holding up . So as you indicated, we did a mandatory evacuation and Heeded everyone to get out. For those that didnt, we did do a sHelter of Last Resort and opened that one this morning at 7 00 a. M. Last time i passed tHere, we probably have 60 to 70 people in that sHelter. So we are doing what we can for those folks that did not Heed tHe warning. We want to stress to everyone that is still in tHeir homes that tHe Emergency Services are no longer operating. Once tHe wind gets this high, ambulance service, fire service, you cant put those vehicles on tHe road. Its unsafe. So until tHe winds until this gets beyond us and tHe winds diminish, those services will not be available. ArtHel i got a text on my phone saying that Entergy Wont begin to repair Power Outages until tHe winds subside down to about 30 miles an hour. You mentioned your last Helter'>Resort SHelter tHere and youve got about 60 people tHere now and some people stayed at home. Do you have an idea of how many residents are still tHere . Just from observation, i would guess half of my population is at home but thats just a guess. I have no idea who is home and who is not. ArtHel i see. Now, what are you bracing for in tHe immediate aftermath of tHe hurricane . So we have to wait until everything diminisHes and in tHe timing and tHe models that were looking at, its going to be daybreak in tHe morning and once daybreak occurs, were going to get out and start assessing and see how bad it is and start tHe Recovery Process of getting trees and Power Lines and so forth off tHe roads to get tHe roadways open for those folks that are in sHelters or evacuated, to get home to assess those damages that tHey may have. ArtHel governor edwards just said that He doesnt want people to feel like tHey have to rush home immediately because people you and your colleagues, have you to get all tHe services in place and start getting tHe roads cleared up and any sort of Power Lines that may be down, you have to get those cleared. So are you telling tHe folks tHere in Assumption Parish to kind of Hold Off, those who did leave town, to Hold Off before rushing back as well as those who were tHere. THe governor said once youre inside, once tHe storm is upon you, to stay inside even after, for 72 hours perhaps afterwards. Thats correct. So understand that Power Lines are very dangerous. You dont know if tHey are live or not. So we never deal with Power Lines, entergy is our electrical suppliers. THey have to come in and cHeck that, make sure that is de energized before we can remove tHe trees that may be laying on top of tHem. This is a lengthy process. Although we work in Emergency Situations with Heavy equipment and a lot of resources, we have to also operate in a safe manner. So it takes time to have those crews aHead of us, to make sure its Safe To artHel i think we lost mr. Budrous audio tHere. It seems like tHey are prepared for tHe worst tHere and again were praying for tHe best. Eric. Eric that we are. Its less than 48 hours until u. S. Forces are set to leave afghanistan. You saw it on Fox News a few moments ago, tHe president didnt want to take a question about afghanistan wHen He was Briefing Reporters at fema about tHe hurricane. But tHe Terror Threat we are told continues. Dan hoffman is Here on todays early Morning Air Strike and tHe threat from tHe taliban and isisk. Riders, tHe lone wolves of tHe great highway. All tHey need is a bike and a full tank of gas. THeir only friend . THe open road. I have friends. [ chuckles ] well, He may have friends, but He rides alone. Thats jeremy, right tHere were literally riding togetHer. He gets touchy wHen you talk about his lack of friends. Can you Help me out Here . No matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at 79 a year. Well, were new friends. To be fair. Eh, still. I brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. Those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks [sighs wearily] Here, ill take that woohoo ensure max protein. 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Central come manned confirming tHey took out a vehicle believed to be carrying a Suicide Bomber and a large amount of explosives, it was thought that was a Car Bomb that would be driven tHe airport and take a lot more people out, as tHe u. S. Is set to pull out awful our troops on all of our troops on tuesday, afghanistan could become a Breeding Ground for terrorists. Dan hoffman joins us, former Cia Region Chief for tHe region and that included afghanistan. Dan, lets say youre station chief. You take tHe facts, you know tHem on tHe ground. What is your unvarnisHed cleareyed report on tHe Terrorist Threat and afghanistans future under tHe taliban . Well, if i were briefing tHe director of cia on tHe threats in afghanistan, which start with this. Were facing a three pronged assault from three terrorist groups. First from alqaida, which is still active in that region. Secondly from isis, which tHe u. S. Military successfully struck today and a couple of days ago as well and tHen tHe third is from tHe taliban. Lets not forget weve been at war with tHe taliban for 20 years and right now tHey are in control of tHe country and that means that afghanistan is morphing before our eyes into a Terrorist State and that coupled with tHe fact that our embassy is closed and our Intelligence Footprint at least from what it was is greatly diminisHed and Recall Director Cia burns own words wHen He testified before tHe withdrawal, that we would be degrading our Intelligence Collection Capability if tHe military withdrew. Eric what does it mean if were going to be blind. I dont think weo be blind. I think this will require tHe Intelligence Community and tHe cia in particular to develop a new paradigm for intelligence collection. THe key for us in tHe Intelligence Community is to find and fix part of tHe operation wHere youre looking for Terrorist Targets and to do that you need human sources. It Helps to be on tHe ground. It Helps to be supported by tHe u. S. Military. But now tHe cia will have to do it in different ways and with great rigor because we always want to try to get to near certainity before we strike targets, before we take a kinetic strike or potentially run a Capture Operation but tHese days we dont have tHe afghan national army, we dont have tHe afghan Intelligence Service with us anymore so most likely were looking at kinetic strikes. That means for tHe cia, it means working with allies and partners, both in afghanistan and even some in tHe region thats going to be extraordinary difficult and wHen possible im sure tHe cia will operate unilaterally as well. Eric can we keep tHe Terror Threat at bay . I think thats a very difficult question to answer. I would say with a very high level of confidence that its going to be far more difficult and that afghanistan presents to our Nation Today an irony of irony as we look aHead to tHe 20th anniversary of 9 11, a greater Clear And Present Danger than ever before and i think its going to demand far more focus of our time and resources than this administration would have wanted. Thats how you get out of tHe conflict. This administration would like to focus on tHe climate Change And China and otHer priorities. This is going to drag us back in and going to force us to devote more resources to tHe collection and tHen tHe strikes against tHese terrorists. I have every reason to believe that afghanistan will be like tHe magnet for terrorists. THeres massive swaths of ungoverned space. Thats wHere tHeyre going to Head. Eric oh,man. Look what happened this morning. A missile took out a car, its in annal lie. Comes down from tHe sky, a reaper, Hell-fire-missile'>Hell Fire Missile were told, called an r9x, uses blades, notice explosives, tHe blades cut tHe guys up who apparently were Suicide Bombers on tHe way to tHe airport. What goes into that type of operation and can we successfully launch otHers like that to try and kill tHe terrorists before tHey kill us . So that particular strike is tHe product of 20 years of doing this in afghanistan and iraq and tHe reason why that particular Hell-fire'>Hell Fire was used, ratHer than a large explosive which is what we used to use in tHe old days, was that it really reduces tHe risk of Hedral-collateral-damage'>CatHedral Collateral Damage to Collateral Damage to innocent civilians in tHe immediate vicinity. I think this was an extraordinarily important strike for us. I think that those targets were most likely Conducting Preattack surveillance. We were able to detect tHem possibly through chatter, through Signals Intelligence but imagine that were no longer at tHe airport conducting Force Protection operations like this one. Those guys will be running free and plotting against us in tHe region or potentially beyond once we leave tHe airport and that is of great concern. But kudos to our military for doing all tHe work that tHeyre doing because tHeyre simultaneously protecting at tHe point of attack. THey cant get off tHe x. THey are right tHere in an isis Kill Zone and kudos to tHem for getting out tHere and taking tHe fight to tHe enemy. Eric absolutely. Weve seen testify ect of that and it was just tHe effect of that and it was astounding tHey could pinpoint to target tHe bad guys in that way. Rolling forward, youre not very optimistic . I am not optimistic. You know, i was asked wHen i was in pakistan years ago by a visiting congressman wHen we could withdraw all our forces from tHe region and our Intelligence Capability and do something else and i said, well, tHe missions not over yet. Were operating in failed states. Remember, pakistan is a nuclear armed state. Alqaida has tHe nuclear program in tHeir cross hairs, we know that i said were honored to be Here doing tHe work that were doing for as long as tHe Chition Mission exists for us, tHe mission exists for us. Im not saying we should engage in Nation Building and those things but counter terrorism operations, boots on tHe ground, tHe smallest force necessary to collect tHe intelligence, conduct tHe operations which keeps us safe and now its over to our military and our Intelligence Community to do tHe work in extraordinarily increasingly difficult circumstances. But we need to hold tHe administration accountable for what plans tHey might have many im sure tHere will be Hearings about this. Eric tHere should be Hearings about this. I cant let you go about what this nugget you dropped, about pakistan is a nuclear armed state. Is tHere a possibility that tHe Taliban In Afghanistan or taliban forces in pakistan can take over pakistan and have a taliban that is armed with nuclear weapons . I mean, thats a deadly scenario. You know, at tHe very least, we know that alqaida and tHe Pakistani Taliban with remnants of which formed isisk, again, has tHeir sights set on pakistan to conduct lethal attacks against tHem which tHeyve done very successfully. Pakistan is at great risk. THeyve got a demographic crisis, an economic one, tHeir Healthcare-system'>Healthcare System is in at thats and tHey are also a failed state in tHeir own way and that is a challenge and so that is a scenario that i hope tHe president s talking about with his team of advisors. Eric dan hoffman, Pakistan And Terror in afghanistan. Thank you. Well be right back. upbeat Pop Music in background throughout vo unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. Thats how weve become tHe leader in 5g. 1 in customer satisfaction. And a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. At usaa, weve been called too exclusive. Because we were created for officers. But as weve evolved with tHe military, weve grown to serve all whove honorably served. No matter tHeir rank, or wHen tHey were in. A marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from 73. And even his kids. And tHeir kids. Usaa is made for all whove honorably served and tHeir families. Are we still exclusive . Absolutely. And thats exactly why you should join. That Spin Class was brutal. Well, you can try using tHe buicks massaging seat. Oh. Yeah, thats nice. Can i use Apple Carplay to put some music on . Sure, its wireless. Whats your buicks wifi password . Its buick envision. Thats a really tight spot. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too tHe Allnew Buick envision. Built around you. All of you. Pay no interest for 72 months plus current eligible buick owners get 500 Purchase Allowance on most 2021 Buick Suv models. Eric Hurricane Ida slamming tHe soutHeast Gulf Coast making a second landfall in louisiana, just as within tHe last hour. All this on what this is tHe 16th anniversary of tHe devastating Hurricane Katrinas landfall. Hello everyone. Welcome to Fox News live Here on tHe Fox News channel. Im eric shawn. ArtHel Hello everyone im artHel neville. President Biden Minutes ago calling tHe storm devastating and life threatening and pledging tHe full resources and support of tHe federal government to Help states impacted by tHe storm. Louisiana governor