AFP UK

Hurricane Ida was upgraded to a Category Four storm, the US National Hurricane Center said Sunday, staying on course to hit New Orleans with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (209 kilometers per hour).

Sunday, when Ida is due to make landfall, marks 16 years since Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, left 1,800 people dead, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

“Major Hurricane Ida continues to strengthen… Now a dangerous category 4 hurricane,” the NHC said on its website. 

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall along the Louisiana coast this afternoon,” the center earlier said in its latest advisory when Ida was raised to Category Three. 

Shops were boarded up and evacuations were underway Saturday in the southern US city, with officials warning residents to leave immediately or hunker down to ride out the storm. 

“Everybody is scared because it’s the anniversary of Katrina and people didn’t take it seriously at the time,” said Austin Suriano, who was helping board up the windows of his father’s watch repair shop.

Category Four is the second highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with winds rising up to 140 miles per hour.

President Joe Biden warned Saturday that “Ida is turning into a very, very dangerous storm” when it had built to a Category 2 hurricane.

Earlier in the day, people evacuating from New Orleans and other cities clogged roads heading north as officials warned locals to leave immediately or hunker down.

All Sunday flights were canceled at New Orleans airport.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Ida would be one of the most powerful storms to hit the state since the 1850s.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to take Ida with utmost seriousness.

“Time is not on our side,” she told a briefing. “It’s rapidly growing, it’s intensifying.”

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding as the fast-intensifying storm roared northward after pummeling western Cuba.

“Extended power loss is almost certain,” New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold told reporters Saturday. “I’m imploring you to take this storm seriously.”

Biden said hundreds of emergency personnel had been sent to the region, along with food, water and electric generators. 

Shelters were being prepared around the region, but Louisiana has been one of the hardest-hit states by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Biden urged anyone heading to a shelter to wear a mask and take precautions.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 11 feet near New Orleans and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River — when the hurricane makes landfall.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could spawn tornadoes.

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

The emergency declaration, approved by Biden, will expedite federal storm assistance to the southern state.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category One storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour but causing mostly minor damage. 

– ‘Very painful’ –

The dire warnings about Ida inevitably sparked memories of Katrina, Governor Edwards said in a briefing.

“It’s very painful to think about another powerful storm like Hurricane Ida, making landfall on that anniversary,” he said.

One big difference, he said, was the huge investment since then in an extensive storm protection system of levees, gates and pumps.

Still, Eric Suriano, the watchmaker, remembers Katrina vividly: “It was the nightmare of my life.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Nora’s center “remains near the coast of Mexico after making landfall in the northwest Jalisco” province, the center said.

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

Owners were boarding up their shops and evacuations were underway Saturday as Hurricane Ida was on a path to hit New Orleans 16 years to the day the southern US city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

A handful of people were still on New Orleans streets, but many businesses had closed up ahead of what the National Weather Service called an “an extremely dangerous major hurricane.”

“Everybody is scared because it’s the anniversary of Katrina and people didn’t take it seriously at the time,” said Austin Suriano, who was helping board up the windows of his father’s watch repair shop.

Sunday, when Ida is due to make landfall, marks 16 years since Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, left 1,800 people dead and caused billions of dollars in damage.

President Joe Biden warned Saturday that “Ida is turning into a very, very dangerous storm” as it built to a Category 2 hurricane, packing 100 mile (160 kilometer) per hour sustained winds and heavy rain.

Earlier in the day, people evacuating from New Orleans and other cities clogged roads heading north as officials warned locals to leave immediately or hunker down to ride out the storm.

All Sunday flights were cancelled at New Orleans airport.

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit the area late Saturday, while Ida was forecast to slam into the coast as a powerful Category Four hurricane — with winds up to 140 miles per hour — Sunday afternoon or evening.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Ida would be one of the most powerful storms to hit the state since the 1850s.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to take Ida with utmost seriousness.

“Time is not on our side,” she told a briefing. “It’s rapidly growing, it’s intensifying.”

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding as the fast-intensifying storm roared northward after pummeling western Cuba.

“Extended power loss is almost certain,” New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold told reporters Saturday. “I’m imploring you to take this storm seriously.”

Biden said hundreds of emergency personnel had been sent to the region, along with food, water and electric generators. 

Shelters were being prepared around the region, but Louisiana has been one of the hardest-hit states by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Biden urged anyone heading to a shelter to wear a mask and take precautions.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 11 feet near New Orleans and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River — when the hurricane makes landfall.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could spawn tornadoes.

Category Four is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

The emergency declaration, approved by Biden, will expedite federal storm assistance to the southern state.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour but causing mostly minor damage. 

– ‘Be ready for whatever comes’ –

The dire warnings about Ida inevitably sparked memories of Katrina, Governor Edwards said in a briefing.

“It’s very painful to think about another powerful storm like Hurricane Ida, making landfall on that anniversary,” he said.

One big difference, he said, was the huge investment since then in an extensive storm protection system of levees, gates and pumps.

Still, Eric Suriano, the watchmaker, remembers Katrina vividly: “”It was the nightmare of my life.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast, according to the National Hurricane center.

Nora’s center “remains near the coast of Mexico after making landfall in the northwest Jalisco” province, the center said.

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

People evacuating ahead of Hurricane Ida clogged roads headed north on Saturday from the US Gulf Coast, with the strengthening storm set to hit New Orleans 16 years to the day after devastating Hurricane Katrina.

“Ida is turning into a very, very dangerous storm,” President Joe Biden said as it built to a Category 2 hurricane, packing 100 mile (160 kilometer) per hour sustained winds and heavy rain.

Traffic was heavy leaving New Orleans and other cities as officials warned locals to leave immediately or hunker down to ride out the storm.

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast on Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit the area Saturday afternoon, while Ida is forecast to slam into the coast as a powerful Category Four hurricane — with winds up to 140 miles per hour — late Sunday.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Ida would be one of the most powerful storms to hit the state since the 1850s.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to take Ida with utmost seriousness.

“Time is not on our side,” she told a briefing. “It’s rapidly growing, it’s intensifying.”

Sunday is the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, leaving 1,800 people dead and causing billions in damage.

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding as the fast-intensifying storm roars northward after pummeling western Cuba.

“Extended power loss is almost certain,” New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold told reporters Saturday. “I’m imploring you to take this storm seriously.”

Biden said hundreds of emergency personnel had been sent to the region, along with food, water and electric generators. 

Shelters were being prepared around the region, but Louisiana has been one of the hardest-hit states by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Biden urged anyone heading to a shelter to wear a mask and take precautions.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 11 feet near New Orleans and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River — when the hurricane makes landfall.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could spawn tornadoes.

Category Four is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

The emergency declaration, approved by Biden, will expedite federal storm assistance to the southern state.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour but causing mostly minor damage. 

– ‘Be ready for whatever comes’ –

The dire warnings about Ida inevitably sparked memories of Katrina, Governor Edwards said in a briefing.

“It’s very painful to think about another powerful storm like Hurricane Ida, making landfall on that anniversary,” he said.

One big difference, he said, was the huge investment since then in an extensive storm protection system of levees, gates and pumps.

“Having said all that,” he added, “this system is going to be tested… (but) we’re going to get through this.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora was on a track threatening Mexico’s central Pacific coast state of Jalisco, the NHC said. It warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.”

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

People evacuating ahead of Hurricane Ida clogged roads headed north on Saturday from the US Gulf Coast, with the strengthening storm set to hit New Orleans 16 years to the day after devastating Hurricane Katrina 

“Ida is turning into a very, very dangerous storm,” President Joe Biden said as it built to a Category 2 hurricane, packing 100 mile (160 kilometer) per hour sustained winds and heavy rain.

Traffic was heavy leaving New Orleans and other cities as officials warned locals to leave immediately or hunker down to ride out the storm.

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast on Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit the area Saturday afternoon, while Ida is forecast to slam into the coast as a powerful Category Four hurricane — with winds up to 140 miles per hour — late Sunday.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Ida would be one of the most powerful storms to hit the state since the 1850s.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to take Ida with utmost seriousness.

“Time is not on our side,” she told a briefing. “It’s rapidly growing, it’s intensifying.”

Sunday is the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, leaving 1,800 people dead and causing billions in damage.

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding as the fast-intensifying storm roars northward after pummeling western Cuba.

“Extended power loss is almost certain,” New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold told reporters Saturday. “I’m imploring you to take this storm seriously.”

Biden said hundreds of emergency personnel had been sent to the region, along with food, water and electric generators. 

Shelters were being prepared around the region, but Louisiana has been one of the hardest-hit states by the Covid-19 pandemic, and Biden urged anyone heading to a shelter to wear a mask and take precautions.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 11 feet near New Orleans and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River — when the hurricane makes landfall.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could spawn tornadoes.

Category Four is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

The emergency declaration, approved by Biden, will expedite federal storm assistance to the southern state.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour but causing mostly minor damage. 

– ‘Be ready for whatever comes’ –

The dire warnings about Ida inevitably sparked memories of Katrina, Governor Edwards said in a briefing.

“It’s very painful to think about another powerful storm like Hurricane Ida, making landfall on that anniversary,” he said.

One big difference, he said, was the huge investment since then in an extensive storm protection system of levees, gates and pumps.

“Having said all that,” he added, “this system is going to be tested… (but) we’re going to get through this.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora was on a track threatening Mexico’s central Pacific coast state of Jalisco, the NHC said. It warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.”

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

Authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere on the US Gulf Coast issued increasingly dire sounding warnings Saturday as Hurricane Ida, a storm expected to pack powerful 130 mph winds, moved with unexpected speed toward the New Orleans area. 

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast on Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, adding that storm preparations should be “rushed to completion.”

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit the area Saturday afternoon, with Ida expected to slam into the Louisiana coast as a powerful Category Four hurricane on Sunday evening.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell warned residents to take Ida with utmost seriousness.

“Time is not on our side,” she said in a televised news briefing on Saturday. “It’s rapidly growing, it’s intensifying.”

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding — with rainfall of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) predicted in spots — as the fast-intensifying storm roars through the Gulf after pummeling western Cuba.

Officials warned that power outages were a virtual certainty — and might be long-lasting.

“Extended power loss is almost certain,” New Orleans homeland security director Collin Arnold told reporters Saturday. “I’m imploring you to take this storm seriously.”

As of late Saturday morning, Ida packed maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 kph) and was moving on a northwestern track at a rapid 16 mph, the NHC said.

Cantrell earlier urged people within the city’s hurricane protection area to hunker down, adding that anyone outside the area planning to leave should “do so immediately.”

“We don’t want to have people on the road and therefore in greater danger,” she said Friday.

Sunday is the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, leaving 1,800 people dead and inflicting billions in property damage. 

The city has substantially strengthened its protective levee system since then.

Cantrell said that to avoid the chaos that followed Katrina, with thousands of people stranded by floodwaters, the city has protectively chartered 125 coach buses for post-storm evacuations.

On Saturday, traffic was heavy on highways out of the area. 

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 11 feet near New Orleans and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River — when the hurricane makes landfall along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could generate tornadoes.

“The time to act is NOW,” the New Orleans branch of the US National Weather Service urged in a tweet.

Category Four is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

Officials earlier ordered mandatory evacuations outside the levee-protected areas of New Orleans and flood-prone coastal towns on the state’s coast such as Grand Isle.  

“People are packing and leaving right now,” Scooter Resweber, Grand Isle’s police chief, told local media. “This is going to be a big one.”

The emergency declaration, approved by President Joe Biden, will expedite federal assistance to the southern state to bolster its emergency preparedness and response.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour. 

The storm felled trees, damaged roofs and downed power lines causing widespread outages, state-owned website Granma reported.

– ‘Be ready for whatever comes’ –

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned people to “be ready for whatever comes,” adding in a Twitter message Saturday, “This storm will bring serious impacts across the state.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora was on a track threatening Mexico’s central Pacific coast state of Jalisco, the NHC said. It warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.”

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

Tens of thousands of people formed a human chain around Spain’s crisis-hit Mar Menor lagoon on Saturday in a show of mourning after tonnes of dead fish washed ashore, organisers and officials said. 

One of Europe’s largest saltwater lagoons, the Mar Menor has long been a draw for tourists but is slowly dying as a result of agricultural pollution, with millions of fish and crustaceans dying over the past fortnight. 

Images of dead fish have traumatised this southeastern coastal region, with locals and tourists turning out to join the mass mourning.

Footage from the scene showed huge lines of people, many in beachwear, holding hands along the waterfront on Alcazares beach, which stretches six kilometres and other part of the lagoon’s 73-kilometre (45-mile) shoreline. 

“It was an act of mourning for the death of the animals… we wanted people to somehow ask their forgiveness for the barbarity we’ve inflicted on them,” Jesus Cutillas, one of the organisers told AFP.

“For days, we’ve witnessed the death of millions and millions of fish and seeing all that unnecessary death hurts.

“The aim was to express our regret for what has happened and show our determination that it never happens again.”

Many people wore  black, others held up banners reading: SOS Mar Menor. 

Organisers estimated  up to 70,000 people joined the protest.  

– 15 tonnes of fish, algae –

Experts say the fish suffocated due to a lack of oxygen caused by hundreds of tonnes of nitrates from fertilisers leaking into the waters, causing a phenomenon known as eutrophication which collapses aquatic ecosystems. 

On Monday, regional officials said they had removed 4.5-5.0 tonnes of fish, but by Saturday that had risen threefold to 15 tonnes of fish and algae.

“The 15 tonnes of dead fish and biomass (removed from the shore) show that this is indeed an environmental catastrophe and emergency. We need immediate help for the ecosystem,” tweeted Noelia Arroyo, mayor of the nearby town of Cartagena. 

Pedro Garcia, director of regional conservation organisation ANSE, said this week that environmental groups feared the marine death toll was more than twice the figure given on Monday by the authorities. 

“Within that 15-tonne figure, there will certainly be at least two or three tones of dead vegetation, but we have no way of knowing for sure,” he told AFP on Saturday. 

At the lagoon on Wednesday, Environment Minister Teresa Ribera accused the regional government of turning a blind eye to farming irregularities in the Campo de Cartagena, a vast area of intensive agriculture that has grown tenfold over the past 40 years.

But agricultural groups insist they comply scrupulously with environmental legislation.

Authorities in Louisiana and elsewhere on the US Gulf Coast issued increasingly dire sounding warnings Saturday as Hurricane Ida, a storm expected to pack powerful 130 mph winds, moved with unexpected speed toward the New Orleans area. 

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf coast on Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, adding that storm preparations should be “rushed to completion.”

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to hit the area Saturday afternoon, with hurricane-strength winds coming on Sunday or early Monday.

Southern Louisiana was bracing for massive damage and flooding — with rainfall of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) predicted in spots — as the fast-intensifying storm, after pummeling western Cuba, moves through the Gulf.

As of Saturday morning, Ida packed maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (135 kph) and was moving on a northwestern track at a rapid 16 mph, the NHC said.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged people within the city’s hurricane protection area to hunker down, saying it was too late for them to leave.

“We don’t want to have people on the road and therefore in greater danger,” she said in a briefing late Friday, the nola.com website reported.

Sunday is the 16th anniversary of Katrina, the devastating Category Five hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, leaving 1,800 people dead and inflicting billions in property damage. 

To avoid the chaos that followed Katrina, with thousands of people stranded by floodwaters, Cantrell said the city had protectively chartered 125 coach buses for post-storm evacuations.

On Saturday, traffic was heavy on highways out of the area. 

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” — as high as 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River —  when the hurricane makes landfall along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.

It warned of “catastrophic wind damage” and said Ida could generate tornadoes.

“The time to act is NOW,” the New Orleans branch of the US National Weather Service urged in a tweet.

Category Four is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm.

Officials earlier ordered mandatory evacuations outside the levee-protected areas of New Orleans and flood-prone coastal towns on the state’s coast such as Grand Isle.  

“People are packing and leaving right now,” Scooter Resweber, Grand Isle’s police chief, told local media. “This is going to be a big one.”

The emergency declaration, approved by President Joe Biden, will expedite federal assistance to the southern state to bolster its emergency preparedness and response.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing winds near 80 miles per hour. More than 10,000 people were evacuated in Pinar del Rio province.

The storm felled trees, damaged roofs and downed power lines causing widespread outages, state-owned newspaper Granma reported.

– ‘Be ready for whatever comes’ –

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned people to “be ready for whatever comes,” adding in a Twitter message Saturday, “This storm will bring serious impacts across the state.”

Meantime, a Category One hurricane named Nora was on a track threatening Mexico’s central Pacific coast state of Jalisco, the NHC said Saturday. It warned of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.”

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in cyclone activity as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

Scientists have discovered what is believed to be the world’s northernmost landmass — a yet-to-be-named island north of Greenland that could soon be swallowed up by seawaters. 

Researchers came upon the landmass on an expedition in July, and initially thought they had reached Oodaaq, up until now the northernmost island on the planet. 

“We were informed that there had been an error on my GPS which had led us to believe that we were standing on Oodaaq Island,” said the head of the mission, Morten Rasch from Copenhagen University’s department of geosciences and natural resource management. 

“In reality, we had discovered a new island further north, a discovery that just slightly expands the kingdom” of Denmark, he added. 

Oodaaq is some 700 kilometres (435 miles) south of the North Pole, while the new island is 780 metres (2,560 feet) north of Oodaaq.

Copenhagen University said in a statement late Friday the “yet-to-be-named island is… the northernmost point of Greenland and one of the most northerly points of land on Earth.”

But it is only 30 to 60 metres above sea level, and Rasch said it could be a “short-lived islet”.

“No one knows how long it will remain. In principle, it could disappear as soon as a powerful new storm hits.”

The autonomous Danish territory of Greenland has grabbed headlines in recent years, most notably in 2019 when former US president Donald Trump said he wanted to buy the Arctic territory. 

The proposal, described as “absurd” by the Danish government, caused a diplomatic kerfuffle, but also signalled renewed American interest in the region.

It has also been hard hit by climate change as warmer temperatures have melted its glaciers, causing alarming sea level rise. 

Residents evacuated high-risk areas and lined up to buy supplies Friday as Louisiana braced for Hurricane Ida, expected to strengthen to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm when it hits the southern United States this weekend.

The National Weather Service is now forecasting a “life-threatening storm surge” when the hurricane makes landfall along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, warning of “catastrophic wind damage” and urging those in affected areas to follow advice from local officials.

“The time to act is NOW. Hurricane Ida is now forecast to make landfall as a category 4 hurricane,” the New Orleans branch of the US National Weather Service urged in a tweet.

That level is the second-highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a minimum wind strength of 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour. 

Louisiana has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm, forecast to make US landfall Sunday — 16 years to the day after the devastating Hurricane Katrina first hit the state, which flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and killed more than 1,800 people.

Officials have already ordered mandatory evacuations outside the levee-protected areas of New Orleans and flood-prone coastal towns on the state’s coast such as Grand Isle.  

“People are packing and leaving right now,” Scooter Resweber, police chief in Grand Isle, told local media. “We know this is going to be a big one.”

The declaration, approved by President Joe Biden, will funnel federal supplemental funds and aid to the southern state to bolster its emergency preparedness and response efforts.

The hurricane made landfall late Friday in western Cuba as a Category 1 storm, packing maximum sustained winds near 80 miles per hour.

Ida struck Cuba in the province of Pinar del Rio, the current coronavirus epicenter of the island. More than 10,000 people were evacuated and electricity was cut off ahead of the storm as a precaution.

In the capital Havana, public transport was suspended by midday and thousands of people were evacuated.

– ‘Potentially devastating’ –

“Now is the time for Louisianans to get prepared,” tweeted the state’s governor John Bel Edwards, calling on residents to “make sure you and your family are ready for whatever comes.”

But New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell told residents inside the city’s protective levee system to stay in their homes.

“We do not want to have people on the road, and therefore in greater danger,” she told local news website nola.com.

A public shelter was being prepared for people who could not evacuate but did not want to shelter at homes, she added.

NHC said the storm was likely to produce heavy rainfall and “considerable” flooding from southeast Louisiana to coastal Mississippi and Alabama. 

Last week, a rare tropical storm struck the US northeastern seaboard, knocking out power to thousands of Americans, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall. 

Scientists have warned of a rise in the number of powerful cyclones as the ocean surface warms due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities.

President Joe Biden said Friday that China was withholding “critical information” on the origins of Covid-19 after the US intelligence community said it did not believe the virus was a bioweapon — but remained split on whether it escaped from a lab.

The United States, however, does not believe Chinese officials had foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of the pandemic that has now claimed 4.5 million lives, according to the unclassified summary of an eagerly awaited intelligence report.

“Critical information about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People’s Republic of China, yet from the beginning, government officials in China have worked to prevent international investigators and members of the global public health community from accessing it,” Biden said in a statement.

“To this day, the PRC continues to reject calls for transparency and withhold information, even as the toll of this pandemic continues to rise.”

US intelligence has ruled out that the coronavirus was developed as a weapon, and most agencies assess with “low confidence” it was not genetically engineered.

But the community remains divided on the pathogen’s origins, with four agencies and the National Intelligence Council judging in favor of natural exposure to an animal as the likely explanation, and one agency favoring the lab leak theory.

Analysts at three agencies were unable to reach a conclusion.

“Variations in analytic views largely stem from differences in how agencies weigh intelligence reporting and scientific publications, and intelligence and scientific gaps,” the summary said.

The intelligence community and global scientists lack clinical samples or epidemiological data from the earliest Covid-19 cases, it added.

Biden said the United States would continue to work with allies to press Beijing to share more information and cooperate with the World Health Organization.

“We must have a full and transparent accounting of this global tragedy. Nothing less is acceptable,” he said.

The office of the director of national intelligence said it was reviewing de-classifying parts of the report in the near future, in light of the historic nature of the pandemic and the importance of informing the public, while protecting its sources and methods.

– Lab leak fading –

Beijing has rejected calls from the United States and other countries for a renewed origin probe after a heavily politicized visit by a WHO team in January also proved inconclusive, and faced criticism for lacking transparency and access.

In a statement Friday, the Chinese embassy in Washington slammed the US intelligence community’s findings, defending its handling of the pandemic and the WHO investigation.

“The report by the US intelligence community shows that the US is bent on going down the wrong path of political manipulation,” the embassy said in a statement. 

“The report by the intelligence community is based on the presumption of guilt on the part of China, and it is only for scapegoating China.”

At the outset of the pandemic, the natural origin hypothesis — that the virus emerged in bats and then passed to humans, likely via an intermediary species — was widely accepted.

But as time wore on and scientists were unable to find a virus in either bats or another animal that matches the genetic signature of SARS-CoV-2, investigators said they were more open to considering a leak involving the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which carried out bat coronavirus research.

Recent scientific papers, however, are tilting the debate back towards a zoonotic origin.

Researchers in China and the University of Glasgow published a paper in the journal Science that found “animal-to-human transmission associated with infected live animals is the most likely cause of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Additionally, a paper by 21 top virologists in the journal Cell bluntly concluded: “There is currently no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 has a laboratory origin.”