Louisiana Governor Edwards also last hour with an update on the situation in his state. We have a very dangerous situation on our hands, with Hurricane Ida, and we can expect devastating impacts to continue for most of the next 24 hours or so, as the hurricane passes through the state. I can tell you right now, we do not anticipate any overtopping of the Mississippi River levees or overtopping of the levees in the hurricanerisk Reduction System around the Greater New Orleans area. Arthel that is good news for sure. Look at these images. We have Fox Team Coverage of this massive storm. Meteorologist Adam Klotz is live in the Fox Weather Center with the latest, but were going to go to Mike Tobin which is fighting and bracing the winds there. I think you are on Canal Street, the edge of the french quarter. Mike, take it away. Well, i am on Canal Street. You can see we are certainly getting buffeted by some significant wind shear. The one thing is that were not really at the worst of it yet. As i look at the barometer that i carry around with me, were not quite down into the low pressure areas of hurricane strength. So that means that the worst is still yet to come. There is some Wind Damage that weve seen around this area so far. I can show you live pictures of what is what looks to be a membrane that came off a flat roof. If you have ever done roofing or had to work with that, that soft kind of membrane thats on the top of the of a building, that just peeled off, and the ub fortunate thing for the people and the unfortunate thing for the people who own that building means Theres Nothing to stop the water from coming in. Theres plenty of water coming in. It may be hard to see with your images because it is all horizontal right now. But its anticipated to be as much as 15 to 20 inches, and that means about 3 inches per hour coming into New Orleans. And arthel, something you know very well, New Orleans is built like a bowl, or its i guess the topography is like a bowl, and they rely on the pumps to get the water out of New Orleans when it comes in by The Rain. Theyve got some pumps that are working. You may have read reports that three pumps were not working. But that still meant that 96 pumps were working, and Theres Information that the additional three were working. The problem with it is the volume they can handle is a little less than an inch at an hour. They are looking to get 3 inches per hour. So flooding is almost inevitable here in the crescent city. Weve got some Wind Damage already. And The Rain is significant. What they have a lot of confidence in right now is the Levee System. Theres a big gust. Confidence in the Levee System because some 14 Billion Dollars have been invested in it over the last 16 years, since katrina came through. They built redundancies into that system, and they believe as the water comes into New Orleans, its going to be The Rain, and it is not going to be watt their is driven water thats driven in by the Storm Surge, with that confidence in the Levee System. Lots of Power Outages. Were talking about upwards of 200,000 so far, and one of the things that i see here in New Orleans thats a bit surprising to me is the Bucket Trucks. Its going to be tough to get the shot right now given our Camera Position here on Canal Street. The Bucket Trucks are already here. Usually what you see with a hurricane is they back up outside of harms way, and then when the storm is over, they come in. As you look down Canal Street, one of the things you can see in addition to those trucks is that these Palm Trees are really taking a beating. Theres a lot of water in the soil, and when you see the trees that tip over, ultimately what you see happen is the ground gets softened for hours and hours with The Rain coming in, and then as The Rain continues to or the wind, i should say, comes to beat on the trees the way they do, ultimately that tips it over. What you might be noticing, the way the gusts are hitting me right now, it is not like a wind tunnel. You dont get smooth wind. You get battered by the wind, then it backs off for a little bit. Then you get battered again a little bit later. If you are ever done something like removing a fencepost, you dont just apply solid pressure to it. You rock it back and forth. So when you start talking about trees that will get knocked over, debris that will get knocked loose, the wind works on it, back and forth and back and forth, and thats when you have the significant property damage. Certainly when you are talking about the trees that get knocked over, thats when you talk about the extent of Power Outages. Were already seeing that arthel. One of the things i can tell you, as bad as it looks right now, it is expected to get worse. Arthel yeah, mike, you are talking about that yeah, mike, you are talking about that rocking back and forth of the trees. Over your left shoulder, on the other side of The Street on the sidewalk there, theres a Palm Tree thats swaying pretty heavily. I want you to be careful of that, first of all. Thank you. Arthel yeah. You are not a small guy. You are a strong guy being blown around by that wind. I want to know do you have a safe place to go in between these live shots because people are concerned about that . Exactly. Weve built our plan here with a retreat in mind. Were not out in it. Were close to the hotel, so we have a place to go and retreat. That brings up a point, something we heard from the mayor here of the New Orleans, for people who didnt make a decision about whether they were going to evacuate, that decision has been made for you. The storm is here. Its no longer safe to be on the roads. So if you were going to go somewhere to retreat, you cant anymore. Youve got to now found a safe place, whether your house, stay towards the center of your house. Get away from the windows and ride out the storm. We will see how this looks tomorrow. Arthel yes, all right, mike, get to safety. Thank you very much for that extraordinary report there, on Canal Street in New Orleans. Eric, you know, that right there, were going to release mike, and eric, i wanted to talk to you for a second, if i could, and this is what everybody at home, it kind of hit them at the last minute, you know, sort of like people who are normally going to stay are staying. You had people up until yesterday, which is saturday, last minute, should we go or stay . And My Mom and my uncle finally left around 3 30 yesterday afternoon, which is saturday. They made it to houston, houston, texas 17 hours later. Eric wow. Arthel it normally takes five hours from New Orleans to houston. Suddenly theres a collective feeling where people are calling everybody. At first, no, im going to go stay or go uptown. It is high ground up there. Finally everybody said you know what . Something is not feeling right. We have to get out of here. Eric we just saw vividly. It isnt even there the strongest. You can see how strong Canal Street, the wind and the stinging rain in mikes face. Just astounding for a strapping guy like that to be able to stand up, let alone other people. I know your mom, shes ridden out hurricanes before. They know this is serious. Thats that debate that goes through a lot of peoples minds. Arthel My Mom, yes, she normally leaves when Theres Something serious. But a lot of people you dont judge people. I know people watching go why would you stay for a hurricane . Thats an interesting question, and theres so many individual answers as to why people would stay. I know, for instance, i have a friend i was texting with earlier, his parents are in their 80s and theyre staying. Number one, he said look, my dad, he said he cant take the highway anymore. Hes in his 80s. He cant take it anymore. You know, and so there are personal reasons. I do have family still at home in New Orleans Riding Out the storm. Some are in hotels, and some are at home with generators. You know, it is not just about me. It is about my fellow New Orleans friends and fellow louisianans, in mississippi, alabama as well, in the path of ida, its a time that we as americans need to come together and realize that so many forces that can work against us as a collective us, so we should stop fighting with each other and come together to fight against things that are working against us. Thats all i want to say. Eric were all in this together. We need to stay safe. If you are home, shelter in place. Dont take any chances. Dont go out like you saw our Brave Mike do. Adam klotz is here, Weather Meteorologist with the very latest on the storm and where it is going next. What do we expect . It had two landfalls, adam . Adam yeah, well, one landfall. We have some Barrier Islands that set up kind of along the louisiana coast, so that initial land out out on one of those Barrier Islands. Now more of a landfall that will stick. We will be over land which will allow this to weaken. I want to point out a few things. Center of circulation, New Orleans, All The Way up here to the north and to the east. Mike tobin was still a ways away from this and was feeling the wind and Heavy Rain from some of the outer bands. If you get closer to the center of circulation, thats going to be a lot stronger winds. This is a very powerful storm. We saw thats what was able to do to him. We ran on the land at 16 milesperhour initially, but now down to 11 milesanhour. As the storm slows down, if you are dealing with wind, you will have to deal with it longer. If you are dealing with rain, it is going to be there longer. We are starting to see some winds begin to back down, initial landfall at 150 milesanhour, now 140 milesanhour, not a real big slowdown just yet. This is a massive storm. Even if you arent right where i was pointing, that center, you are probably feeling the effects of this for a great range. Everything highlighted in the red, this is a tornado watch, which means the ingredients for tornadoes are in place. Weve seen a couple of little isolated tornadoes already spin up here in the last couple of hours. It includes All The Way over to the florida panhandle, so a large area where you are going to be seeing very Heavy Rain, with those winds, maybe some isolated tornadoes. Obviously the strongest winds are going to be towards the center of this storm. 62 milesanhour was a recent gust there in New Orleans. I do think those numbers are going to continue to climb, continue to intensify as the system lifts up to the north. You dont typically see such strong winds lift so far, but this was such a big powerful storm, it is going to take a lot longer for this to weaken. These are future forecasted winds. This is now taking at 5 00 p. M. , and winds perhaps getting up near 90 milesanhour for gusts in the New Orleans area. Youre seeing that really across portions of louisiana. You continue to track this, and unfortunately it just lingers here for a little while. Those very strong winds. Wind field of at least a tropical storm. Look how large of an area that is. Much of louisiana getting up into mississippi, portions of alabama, are going to be kind of tracking with this. That goes All The Way through tonight until tomorrow at lunch time, beginning to weaken then, but thats a really long time. I will leave you with our Forecast Track here. Thats now taking you into tomorrow, and were still looking, late tonight into early tomorrow, still probably a hurricane at that point, as this just moves very slowly up across this area. Guys, weve been saying this kind of over and over again, eric, new is not one of those things but this is not one of those things that hits the coast and is done. We be paying close attention to this i think at least the next 24 hours. Eric in terms of katrina, the waters, the flooding, so much devastation after. Are the winds stronger with ida . Adam i think rain is going to be an issue even more so than with katrina. Arthel the hurricane is slamming louisiana. Hospitals there are already near capacity, treating covid patients and unable to evacuate them. The States Department of health says more than 2600 covid patients are currently hospitalized. 479 of them are on ventilators. For more on this, were going to bring in a physician in chief and Chief Academic Officer at the Childrens Hospital in New Orleans. Doctor, first of all, are you housing any of those covid patients who are in need of ventilators . We are. Were here at the Childrens Hospital. As of today, we have about a dozen children with covid admitted to the hospital, and five of those are in our intensive care unit. Arthel so what are the conditions like at the hospital now . I mean, how stretched is your staff and your resources . Im not trying to paint a picture of chaos, because i know you have been through this many times, and youre usually prepared, but again, were dealing with multiple crises at the same time. Right. Well, you know, we stay in sort of a state of preparedness all along the Gulf Coast for this kind of event. But weve been intensively preparing for it for the last several days, and so we were able to discharge some patients home and vacate some beds. We have good bed capacity. We brought in staff early this morning. Theyre all locked down here in the building as of 7 00 a. M. , we literally locked the doors, and No One comes in or leaves, and so we have our patients. Many of the children have their parents with them. And we have doctors and nurses and other health professionals, and were good to go within the four walls of this building. So no matter how chaotic it gets outside, an can see out the window, that things are pretty rough out there, inside the building, we continue to provide care, like its any other day. Arthel thats very good to hear. Tell me this, you did mention the children, unfortunately, with covid, theyre on ventilators. How do covid protocols impact what you are doing there . You know, what would normally be your preparation for such a Hurricane Emergency . Well, the patients are demanding. They require certainly special isolation precautions and an intensity of care that is unusual for other children in a Childrens Hospital, and so it does monopolize a lot of the time of the staff, and so it puts a burden on the facility and on the staff that is uncommon, i will put it that way. Arthel uhhuh. But over the past 18 months. We have grown accustomed to it, and over the past six weeks, we have this delta surge, and that Hit Us pretty hard. Weve had 18 or 20 patients in house at any given time, and so, you know, weve adapted to that. I would say that the biggest strain for us has been really the physical and emotional exhaustion that many of the staff are feeling. The people who have been taking care of these children with covid and with a variety of other medical illnesses of course, are the same people who are locked down in the building today, taking care of children through this hurricane, and so despite the exhaustion, people are here, and theyre doing their jobs, and, you know, i couldnt be prouder of them. Arthel yeah, i know you are. You beat me to the punch there, because thats exactly what fs i was what i was going to get to, the emotional exhaustion of you and your staff and everybody, the Frontline Workers there at Childrens Hospital in New Orleans, and just everything youre dealing with. You are all there working. I know you are not asking for praise, but were giving it to you, because your families are at home, you know, so we thank you for the work youre doing there. Is there anything that anyone listening to us right now can do to help you . Well, we just say keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Everyone is working extremely hard, and things are under control, despite the chaos out that window. Inside these four walls, were in good shape right now, and we trust that this storm will pass and that well all be able to breathe a sigh of relief over the next couple of days. Covid is still going to be there. Were still going to be dealing with it. We have seen it abate a bit over the past week, and so we hope we continue on that trend and that the hurricane doesnt undo any of the progress that weve made. Arthel do you have enough generators . We do. Im talking with you by natural light, you may notice, coming in through the window here, and so weve lost city power, and so my office here is sort of a nonessential part of the building. All of the Patient Care areas are on Emergency Generation right now. And weve got plenty of fuel for the generators, and so theres no urgency there. Arthel okay. Doctor, i dont want to hold you any longer. Thank you for giving us an update on whats happening there at Childrens Hospital in New Orleans. We wish you all the best and all the families there and especially the children there in your care. Thank you very much, doctor. Thank you so much. Arthel uhhuh. Eric . Eric front line heros, really staying on duty through the storm. We continue to track Hurricanec Ida as it passes the Gulf Coast, marching north with winds of 150 milesanhour. It could dump nearlyeet of rain in some places. Our Fox Team Coverage continues right after this. Oh are you using liberty Mutuals Coverage Customizer tool . So you only pay for what you need. Sorry . Limu, youre an animal only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Tech every customer has their own safelite story. This couple was on a camping trip. When their windshield got a chip. They drove to safelite for a sameday repair. And with their insurance, it was no cost to them. Woman really . Tech thats service you can trust. Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. [tv announcer] come on down to our Appliance Superstore where weve got the best deals on refrigerators, microwaves, Gas Ranges and grills. And if youre looking for. Where weve got the best deals on refrigerators, microwaves, we did it again. Verizon has been named americas most reliable network by rootmetrics. And our customers rated us 1 for Network Quality in america according to j. D. Power. Number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. Most awarded for Network Quality, 27 times in a row. Proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. Thats why were building 5g right, thats why theres only one best network. Its taken a lot to get to this moment. Grew up at midnight the maccabees dreams are on the line. You got this. Refresh. It all, comes down, to this. Eric Hurricane Ida pummelling the Gulf Coast from louisiana to alabama, slashing the region with torrential rain and powerful winds up to 150 milesperhour. The impact is expected to stretch further inland as we continue to places like lafayette, louisiana. Thats where Fox Weather Correspondent Steve Bender is standing by. Steve, it looks kind of you know, is it sunny and not raining there . Yeah, eric, thats a great question. Off and on, its been sunny, so the last two hours, weve been seeing that sunshine. It is really warmed up here in lafayette, but now were starting to feel that Wind Impact move in, as the outer bands come into more central louisiana, and so really were going to feel that impact here in lafayette late this afternoon, through the evening time, and once it starts to get dark, well see that rain come down, and the governor is still asking everybody to stay indoors, but for right now, it is really Coastal Louisiana that has taken the brunt of this storm. Notice behinds me, want to set the scene for you. This is a sunday afternoon, in lafayette, so everybody is still heeding that warning, staying indoors. Most of the businesses are closed right around 10 00 a. M. This morning. A few also boarded up the windows as we do expect the wind to pick up to 60 to 70 milesanhour gusts later on today. Right now the max was 30 to 40 milesperhour. Shifting our focus to Coastal Louisiana thats where a majority of Power Outage. Just shy of 400,000 people without power at the coastal region. We heard that that number is likely to rise in the next 24 to 36 hours, and it is all because the Power Outages you are witnessing now are because of hurricaneforce winds. As this storm slowly moves inland, we are going to continue to see that rainfall, 15 to 20 inches of rain is going to saturate the ground, and thats where we could see more trees start to topple over, impacting those Power Lines. If you have been hunkering in place and staying in place indoors, you need to be prepared for at least three days without power, as those Emergency Crews start to move back in and try to help those and to restore that power. I have looked at that Storm Surge, and it is still continuing to impact those areas like grand Isle Bay St. Louis, Shell Beach which is to the east of New Orleans, they are still seeing six and a half feet of water on that beach. If you notice, radar, it is all on the dirty side of this storm, on that right quadrant. As you will notice, The Rain continues to pepper that area. As this moves on shore, you will create that friction over land, and thats where we could see some of that circulation and tornadic conditions throughout the afternoon. So here in lafayette, its been quiet because were on the western side of the storm, but if you are east, from New Orleans All The Way up towards jackson, mississippi, into even parts of alabama, those outer bands can spin off, and thats where we could see those tornadoes, and while we are asking you to stay vigilant and also stay inside, through this storm system, it is going to be active here today and tomorrow. Well continue to give you those live updates from lafayette. Back to you, eric. Eric steve Fox Weather Correspondent. Lafayette is about two Hour Drive or so west of New Orleans. As you said, youre on the West Side of the storm. Thanks, steve. Louisiana is taking a direct hit from ida, but millions in mississippi, well, they are also bracing for potentially catastrophic damage in that state. Fox Weather Coverage continues now with live in Gulf Port, Mississippi Work the latest there Gulf Port, mississippi, with the latest there. Im on the opposite side of the storm is what steve was explaining to you. My impacts are dramatically different than what he is showing you because of my positioning. This is really where things start to get real for Gulf Port and for biloxi. A curfew was instated here at about 8 00 a. M. Today. One of the things we have been observing, this is Highway 90 behind me. Even you see a big old Oak Tree behind me, we are waterfront. Were here to document these impacts as they come in right off the water. One of the things were noticing happening around us is deputies are having to stop vehicles right now and have them get off the road and let them know that hey, were going to cite you for being out in this curfew, because they are having to risk their safety. Part of the reason thats happening is because once this wind, its sustained now, about 40 milesperhour, once this wind reaches a certain point, they may be ordered off the road, and so theyre trying to remind a lot of the motorists who may be out kind of joyriding or taking a look, that they are having to risk their safety, and that if they get into trouble, there may not be able to get help for a little while. They are trying to get that word out. We have had a lot of talk with our weather experts, with Rick And Adam and Steve Kind of telling you about the significance of being in the upper right quadrant of this storm. Thats where we are. And so were just now beginning to see these serious impacts. This story is just beginning for this part of the coast. And we certainly have several long hours ahead. Eric . Eric what do you expect during those next hours in terms of the impact where you are right now . We see the difference between you and what we just saw with steve. Yeah, and amazingly right now, we actually still have power in our immediate part of what we can see here Gulf Port. I dont expect that to last long. We have some transformers. I expect them to go at any minute. It is just going to happen with wind like this. I expect that to be an issue. We are getting reports that Highway 90 right here behind me is starting to flood in several parts of it because of the Storm Surge. Immediately kind of out of our Viewing Area here, we are starting to see that road get closed. More of these dangers that we are trying to get people to a safe place right now and just ride this out. I know my camera is fogging up here. Im going to do a live action of cleaning the lens, if you dont mind. That happens. Were in the middle of a hurricane. They are trying to get these folks off the road and in safe shelter right now because it is going to continue to go downhill. Eric that old saying turn around dont drown. Will, thank you very much. Without a doubt. Arthel thank you. For more on the storms impact, we will bring in the president of st. Charles parish, louisiana, and matthew, i understand that you ordered a mandatory evacuation. You still have some of the residents stayed, nonetheless, and i understand that you have two shelters of Last Resort prepared . Where are they . What are they . How are they outfitted . How are they outfitted . How many residents do you think will show up there . The conditions have started to deteriorate earlier today. The power is starting to go out. We lost power at our emergency Operations Center here where i am right now. We are under generator back upright now. Those Power Outages continue at the moment. I would say probably close to 70 75 of the parish is without power. We have two shelters of Last Resort, but really the conditions are too unsafe right now for our residents to get on the road. Were asking those two sites are at our Community Center and at the Middle School on the east bank of st. Charles parish. We are starting to see these sustained winds just holding really strong right now, and we expect that to increase as we get closer to the eyewall, which should be over st. Charles parish around 5 00, 6 00, or 7 00 p. M. Tonight. Arthel yeah, you know, The Shelter Is i understand it, tell me if i have this right, that the residents had to bring their own provisions. I mean, you just provided literally a shelter from the storm, but they had to bring yeah, a shelter of Last Resort is literally just a safer building to ride out the storm. When we sent out our messaging for our shelter of Last Resort, we were targeting people in manufactured homes, Mobile Homes or any structure that might be substandard for someone to ride out sustained 100 milesanhour winds. So thats really who that was geared towards. We did get over 40 people who decided to come to our shelter of refuge here on the West Bank and at the Community Center. Arthel before i let you go, matthew, anticipated 16 foot Storm Surge there . Youve got the high winds already around. Possible tornadoes. Potential prolonged Power Outages. You are already experiencing Power Outages right now. How do you prepare for such conditions, you know, beyond this . Can st. Charles parish withstand it . Do you know if the spillway is in play in terms of controlling the Water Flow . No, the spillway will only control the water of the Mississippi River during High River events, usually early spring, early summer, but, you know, you ask how do you prepare for things like this . Theres only so much you can do. We are not as fortunate as the New Orleans who have the Levee System. We have been fighting to build whatever levees we can as a local government. But obviously a local Government Cant afford A Billion Dollars Flood Protection system on its own. So weve been building Flood Protection systems, and when you get potential Storm Surges of greater than ten feet, theres only so much you can do to prepare, which is why we strongly encouraged our residents under a mandatory evacuation to leave the parish. Arthel maybe there can be some more help on the way to fortify the levees there in st. Charles parish. So we wish you all the best, president matthew jewel. Thank you very much for joining us. Good luck from All Of Us here at fox. Were going to take a break. Thanks for having me. Arthel youre very welcome. Were going to take a break. Our coverage of Hurricane Ida continues. Rgy. Whoo hoo ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. vo how do you know when youve found your team . Whether youre winning, or just doing your best. When youre on the lanes, theyre right behind you. Reunite with your team. Go bowling. This is the greatest Idea Youll ever hear. Okay, its an app that compares Hundreds Of Travel Sites for hotels and cars and Vacation Rentals like kayak does for flights. So its kayak. Yeah, like kayak. Why dont you just call it kayak. Im calling it. Canoe. Compare Hundreds Of Travel Sites for thousands of trips. Kayak. Search one and done. Ayy, ayy, ayy yeah, we fancy like applebees on a Date Night compare Hundreds Of Travel Sites for thousands of trips. Got that Bourbon Street Steak with the Oreo Shake get some whipped cream on the top too two straws, one check, girl, i got you bougie like natty in the Styrofoam Squeaksqueakin in the Truck Bed All The Way home some alabamajamma, she my dixieland delight ayy, thats how we do, how we do, fancy like, Oh Eric a few minutes ago Mike Tobin was defiantly braving the winds of ida. As you can see, hes Still Standing. Mike, how is it going . Well, in the last half hour, ki tell you, eric i can tell you, eric, it seems the intensity of the Wind Gusts are picking up. The volume of water, right dont i step out on Canal Street right now since theres no traffic, one of the things you can see by looking at The Street, as the sheets of rain come through, it just kind of manifests in the forms of waves here on The Streets. And the problem with the volume of waer thats coming through, you have heard people talking about it, that New Orleans is essentially a bowl because when it was built as they expanded with the development, they drained a lot of the wetlands, and then that settled and put it below sea level. So theyre reliant on pumps to get the water out of New Orleans, but those pumps can handle a little less than an inch an hour. Were talking three inches an hour right now. Water damage, flooding in the crescent city is pretty much inevitable. As you have seen other places outside the protection of the Levee System, you have the Storm Surge they are contending with there. They are confident with the 14 Billion Dollars invested in the Levee System since katrina that they can keep outside water from coming in, but Theres Nothing to stop all of this rain that is just buffeting this area. We talk about the wind. Weve seen some Wind Damage in the area. Im looking at a few things in the area here, like some billboards that really look like they are at risk as we get these big gusts that come through. Right now i dont know if a whole lot of extensive Wind Damage, but the Wind Damage, The Rain, Theres Nothing you can do to defend against that, and youre certainly going to get a big volume of Rain Coming In to the crescent city. And the other thing that a point we made the last time we were up, is that the time to get out and move around, the time to evacuate, thats over. Off Couple Peopl you have a Couple People, like the reporters who will come out on The Street but most of us have a good Retreat Plan in place. You do see some people who want to get out on The Street, walk around, and see what the hurricane is like, that has happened. Keep in mind, this is going to get more intense. As i look at the barometer another News Crew out driving around as i look at the barometer, not quite to hurricane barometric pressure. So that means were not quite into hurricaneforce winds. Anticipate as this Hurricane Ida moves rapidly, this is going to get worse in the coming hours. So well see how the damage develops, but certainly, increasing intensity with the wind and the volume of rain out there. Eric . Eric you know, mike, you have a safety plan. You have the goggles on. Youre very mindful of being safe. And it shows exactly vividly how strong this can be even before it completely hits your area. I mean, what does it feel like when you get that stinging rain in your face, those huge gusts come in to try to blow you down . Yeah, the gusts come and go. So there will be a minute when i feel like i can stand up straight and talk with you, and then you really start getting hammered by the wind. When it comes in like that, it is starting to pick up right now. This is when the wind really feels like it is starting to sting the side of your face. And thats the purpose that you mentioned of the goggles. These are just some shop glasses you can get at home depot. It makes it easier to keep your eyes open when you get this Stinging Rain Moving at 70 milesanhour, like it is right about now. So theres one of those big gusts that were talking about. And really, when those big gusts become relevant is when were talking about the trees. Let me show you one of these Palm Trees. One of the things you can see about them, of course, they are trees. They are anchored in the soil. This soil has been wet and its been wet for a long time. As we look up at the tree, it is just getting battered again and again and again. So eventually some of these trees start to give way, and when you think about all the Power Lines that are strung around louisiana, and strung around soil thats already wet, as they get beat for hours and hours and hours, sooner or later, those trees start getting knocked over. When they get knocked over, they take the Power Lines with them. Thats why you have some 200,000 people who are already without power, and as the storm moves north, anticipate thats going to get worse. A lot of people will go without power and they will have to go without it for a long time because it is going to take a long time for the crews, most of them positioned outside of the storm and come in when its over. It is going to take a long time for these crews to get to the people who will be without power. Eric . Eric that shows what can happen. Stay away from the Palm Tree, mike. At least stand a little safer in Case Something happens. Im not hearing anything. Eric youre not hearing me. Okay. You got me now . That happens in a hurricane. We want mike and everyone to be safe. Mike, can you hear me yet . No . I guess he cant. I think i lost the ifb. Are they talking to you . Eric mike lost us. Let him get inside and dry off a little bit down on Canal Street. Mike tobin doing an amazing job showing us very vividly and graphically the effects of the wind and the gusts of Hurricane Ida that hasnt even completely hit New Orleans yet. Arthel . Arthel yeah, he did a phenomenal job as always. So listen, you know and you can see that, how Hurricane Ida can bring lifethreatening winds and Storm Surge there. Farther inland, though, you know, residents in Baton Rouge, north of New Orleans, they are choosing to Hunker Down, stay put, kind of northwest. Even though ida made landfall as a category 4 monster tomorrow today, exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina came ashore as a weaker category 3. Its still real. Casey stegall is live in Baton Rouge with more. Im glad im able to follow Mike Tobin backtoback because it really is apples and oranges when you compare the back grounds. Look, i dont even have my Rain Jacket on yet or my waders. Now, they are inside. Were ready to put them on because it is coming our way. Its just that it has slowed down, once its made landfall, and it is going to take sometime before it gets up to us. We really havent even seen much rain with these outer bands hitting us yet. That is going to change, and conditions expected to deteriorate here in the next few hours. In fact, we are about 80 miles from where Mike Tobin is at this point, but Baton Rouge is still under a hurricane warning, as we speak and a curfew goes into effect here starting tonight, like so many other parishes across the region. Grand isle, we want to take you there, for example, inundated with Storm Surge and rain. Thats south of New Orleans, right there along coastal southern louisiana. Were getting reports that there is six feet of water on highway 1. Thats the only road in and out. White caps in fact on what used to be a road. Most residents down there did heed the Evacuation Orders and got out. Officials say, however, about 40 people decided to stay, and now they cant be reached for help. We have gotten requests for rescue for people who stayed on the island, obviously, and i mentioned White Caps are on the highway. Our Fire Station is taking water on grand isle. Obviously, first Responders Cant get to you. Those folks are going to have to Hunker Down and wait for the storm to pass before its safe. Now, up to 20 inches of rain could fall as weve been telling you in isolated spots. Emergency management officials say that the levees are holding at this time, and the pumps appear to be doing their job. The governor says, however, people need to be prepared for longterm Power Outages, just in the last few hours, we have watched that number climb. There are some 20,000 linemen that are here, on standby, positioned all across the state. Half of them, 10,000 came in from other states, ahead of ida to help out once this thing gets through to start putting up the lines and restoring power as quickly as possible, but the governor warning that some people could be without it for a long period of time. Eric . Arthel yeah, thats a big concern, casey, i will take it. Dont worry, you will have time for some high winds to come your way. Thank you for your excellent reporting. I know. Arthel thank you, casey. Thank you. Arthel Ida Battering the Gulf Coast with Lifethreatening Flooding and Storm Surge. Our coverage, complete coverage of Hurricane Ida continues next. Stay right here. Usaa is made for the safe pilots. For mac. Who can come to a stop with barely a bobble. Lucia. Who announces her intentions even if No Ones there. And sgt moore. Who leaves room for her room. With usaa safepilot, when you drive safe. You can save up to 30 on your auto insurance. Get a quote and start saving. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Icy hot. Ice works fast. Heat makes it last. Feel the power of contrast therapy, so you can rise from pain. Aaaand welcome back to guess the price. Sal. What do you do . Oh, im a retired postal worker. Fantastic. Are you ready to play . Oh, heck yeah. Ok johnny, tell him about eargo. These top of the Line Hearing Aids from eargo are straight out of the future. Theyre rechargeable and virtually invisible in your Ears Host ok sal, how much do you think they cost . Oh gee i dont know. Um er 5000 . Well, actually for you they dont cost anything holy heck. Thats because federal employees, retirees and their families get these life changing Hearing Aids at no cost. Holy heck and you dont need to visit a doctor because they ship right o your home and they come with lifetime remote support. Convenient right . Heck yeah. Heck yeah heck yeah End Summer with a bang. This Labor Day save 300 on eargo 5. Call or go online now for this limited time offer. And if youre an active or retired federal employee you may qualify to get eargo at no cost to you. Arthel for Hundreds Of Thousands of people along the Gulf Coast now without power, as Hurricane Ida barrels through, officials warn some Power Outages from Hurricane Ida could last a week if not more. The storm also affected expected to affect all Oil Refineries in the gulf. Christina coleman has that story for us. Christina, what can you tell us . Hi, arthel. More than 410,000 customers without power throughout louisiana. This number is definitely expected to rise. Catastrophic winds, damage to Power Lines are a major concern. The hurricane strong winds doubled in strength over the past 24 hours. Heres president Joe Biden on the Power Outages. 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. We should be prepared that it can take a long time, no matter how much we can position, which we have, that it will take a long time for it to get back up louisianas major Electricity Provider says those in hardesthit areas could experience Power Outages for weeks, three weeks in some cases. They also say crews will continue pouring into the region from at least 22 states and d. C. To help with the restoration process. Though debris, damage, and flooding could delay some of those efforts. The company says Essential Services like hospitals, fire, police departments, water systems, and as i just mentioned hospitals will be at the top of the restoration list, if they end up losing power. Keep in mind, some louisiana hospitals are already dealing with a lot. They are facing a lot of challenges with the recent surge in covid patients. Heres the governor. We will have no higher priority than to make sure that 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. Also colonial pipeline, the largest petroleum Products Pipeline in the country, just announced its temporarily stopping Fuel Deliveries from houston to greens boro North Carolina but their Fuel Supply throughout the Southeast And Northeast will continue. They are monitoring the hurricane and any potential damage as they assess how this could affect their operations. Arthel . Arthel christina, i have a text from the Power Company saying that we are prepared to safely restore power as Wind Speeds decline below 30 milesanhour, so weve got some time before that condition is safe enough for that to happen. Christina, thank you. We are going to take a short break. We will be right back. Well The Sun Is Shining and the grass is green im way ahead of schedule with my trusty team theres heather on the hedges and kenny on the koi and your trucks been demolished by the Peterson Boy yes wait, what was that . Timber. [ sighs heavily ] when owning a Small Business gets real, progressive helps protect what youve built with affordable coverage. Progressive helps protect what youve built life is full of unexpected surprises. For your first day of school. But other times, it helps knowing what to expect. At university of phoenix, you can count on fixed, affordable tuition for your program. Learn more at phoenix. Edu to make my vision a reality my varilux progressive lenses provide seamlessly transition from near to far. With every detail in sharp focus. Thats seeing no limits. Varilux lenses by essilor. Eric were track Hurricane Ida as it batters New Orleans. There is downtown New Orleans. The american flag Still Standing proudly, though tattered by the winds of the hurricane. Fox weather Meteorologist Adam Klotz tracking where idas going. What do we expect, adam . Adam hey, eric. Its a very slow moving storm, and that continues. Winds are now down to 30 miles an hour. For the last five hours, initially made landfall five hours ago, saw a little bit of a wobble in the eye wall, but now its still looking pretty tight, 130 miles an hour winds. Its now moving to the northwest at 10 miles an hour. It continues to slow down and as it slows down, that means if youre in the path of this, youre just going to experience it longer and longer because its going to be moving so slow as it eventually continues to crawl to the northwest. Theres New Orleans off to the north and the east, and you can tell by the path of this, this is not a direct hit on New Orleans. Theyre getting some very haugh rains and strong winds, but this is probably about as close to New Orleans as the center, the actual eye wall, is going to be. If you pay attention to hurricanes, you do know typically the worst conditions are on the righthand side of the storm or the eastern side of the storm, and we are seeing this. These are our recent Wind Gusts, New Orleans 60s, 70s and closer to 80 i saw recently. Very powerful winds off to the eastern side of this storm. And as this continues to move on up to the north, such a big storm that a we still see a very large area with hurricane warnings, All The Way up to the State Line because its moving slow, because the winds are still powerful, its going to be one you have to pay attention to more than just right along the coast. This is our forecast. Taking you into this evening, still a category 1 hurricane before eventually overnight weakening into a tropical storm as it continues to make that move up to the north. But its going to bring not just wind, a whole lot of rain. This is additional rainfall. So not what we already are seen, additional rainfall, and youre still looking at areas in portions of eastern louisiana, another 10 inches, maybe a foot of rain, up into northern mississippi, alabama, all areas actually, it tracks All The Way up into the ohio river valley. So for the next three days, theres some areas where we could see flooding because, again, this is all getting into River Systems and traveling back down to the gulf of mexico, eric. This is going to be something were paying attention to 12 hours but really the next couple of days. Eric right up through the southeast. And, arthel, were thinking of your hometown, New Orleans, your home state, and all those on the Gulf Coast. Whats your family are, how are they doing and what are your friends telling you . Arthel well, thank you. My moms safe in texas. Aye got some relatives in hotels in town. Theyre good, thank goodness. They have a generator there at the hotel. I heard from a friend in mississippi, theyre doing okay. Nothing extends thive yet, so were keeping our fingers crossed for there. Then also friends at a lower building, Condo Building in the lower garden district, theyre already without power. So its a mixed bag at this time, but where you saw Mike Tobin on Canal Street, thats where the hotel is i was talking about, its downtown, and the building im referring to is not far from there as well. So the winds are very heavy. Now, i have to tell you that im concerned about the pictures that i saw from Lake Pontchartrain out on the lakefront if where its already, you know, spilling over its, you know, over the stairs there. Theres some stairs that we used to sit on well, i didnt fish, but my daddy would fish. You cant even see those stairs right now, thats how high Lake Ponte Chair train is. You know, listen, guys, we are going to be watching and reporting on this throughout the evening, and we are praying for the people of louisiana, mississippi, alabama, tennessee, whoever is in the path of ida. And, you know, we just want to stick together as americans, and we are also, of course, thinking about our troops over there in afghanistan in harms way. So thats it from husband here eric absolutely. Arthel thank you for joining us. Eric, thank you. Eric thank you, arthel. Arthel yeah. Thanks, everybody. Hello, everyone. Im Jackie Deangelis along with joey jones, lara trump, leo terrell, and welcome to the the big Sunday Show is. First, Hurricane Ida slamming louisiana. The Hurricane Hit with a 17milewide eye, 16foot Storm Surges forecasted. Were praying for the best and planning, prepared for the worst. This is going to be a devastating, a devastating hurricane. A lifethreatening