we ll take you there, and hospitals across the gulf states are already overwhelmed by covid, thanks in large part to policies pushed by governors like florida s ron desantis. will they be able to withstand a surge in patients injured by the storm? i ll ask charlie crist. plus, the digniied transfer of 13 fallen service members at dover air force base today. along with family members of those killed in the terror attack thursday at kabul airport. we ll have the latest out of afghanistan. hurricane ida is hurricane ida is tied for strongest storm to ever strike louisiana. tonight, louisiana governor john bell edwards is requesting a presidential major disaster declaration due to the severe impact of the storm. and just this hour, we re hearing reports that the plaquemines parish levees have overtopped with
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and that s why officials are saying stay inside until they make it through the storm. shaq, one of the differences from three hours ago, certainly, is that new shoreline is about three dozen feet closer to you now. shaq brewster, thank you so much there in gulfport, mississippi. we also have senior national correspondent tom llamas is also in new orleans. and tom, what are you seeing there? hey, richard. we re actually seeing the strongest winds so far from hurricane ida. if you can tell in the control room, i m getting a mixed minus in my ear. i ll walk you through. i would say this is the peak of danger for new orleans. the eyewall approaching new orleans, if it s not already here from hurricane ida. these were the strongest winds, the heaviest rains. we re starting to hear the sounds of what sounds like transformers exploding. we re seeing the siding being ripped off some of the buildings and sort of being carried by the wind behind us, and hearing the howl of the wind.
craig fugate and michael mann, thank you for your time and analysis tonight. i appreciate it. that does it for us this hour. stay tuned for continuing coverage of hurricane ida next with joshua johnson, that s coming up after a quick break. stay tuned. and one we explore one that s been paved and one that s forever wild but freedom means you don t have to choose just one adventure you get both. introducing the all-new 3-row jeep grand cherokee l jeep. there s only one. as someone who resembles someone else.
winds. tonight hundred of thousands are without power across the state. rescue crews are on the ground and officials want it to take up to 72 hours to reach some of the affected areas. nbc meteorologist bill karins is attracting hurricane ida. bill, where is the storm right now and how bad is this going to get in baton rouge? i think people in baton rouge are a little more encouraged now than they were today because the storm is a little closer and a little further east than it was expected to track this morning. not going to go right over the top of you. that is the baton rouge story. still gusts at 44 miles per hour. there are some power outages being reported. i m happy to say i think we ve hit the peak of the storm in new orleans, so if you re still one of the few people lucky enough to hit power you should be able to keep it through the rest of the night. winds at 56 miles per hour. earlier they were gusting at 80 to 80 and now they are lower than that. on radar this storm doesn