BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards gave a dire warning for state residents to take all necessary precautions and prepare for the potentially catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Ida during a news conference around 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.
Edwards said Hurricane Ida, which is forecast to intensify to a powerful Category 4 storm before making landfall along the state’s southeastern coast Sunday, Aug. 29, will be the strongest storm to hit anywhere in the state since the 1850s.
The governor said intense wind gusts of up to 110 mph could be felt all throughout southeast Louisiana, as far north as the Mississippi state line, and as far west as Lafayette.
He acknowledged Hurricane Ida will be making landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Flash flooding from Hurricane Ida throughout southeast Louisiana is a real concern, according to the governor.
He said eight to 16 inches of rainfall is expected Sunday through Tuesday, with the potential for higher totals locally.
Edwards also warned residents who were evacuating from coastal areas and New Orleans to go farther north than Baton Rouge and farther west than Lafayette.
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eyesofsunshyne on August 29th, 2021 at 04:29 UTC »
I work for a temporary housing agency that is contracted by insurance carriers. Those who are evacuating need to call their home owners insurance carrier. Your policy may cover your hotel stay. Before and most definitely after the storm. Be patient because the claim departments will likely have long hold times.
Edit: If you’re checked into a hotel and filing a claim be sure to tell your insurance that you need the housing vendor they assign to take over billing. Give the name the reservation is under, hotel name and phone number so this can be passed on to the vendor. This will speed up the vendors process. Be sure to ask your insurance carrier what your ALE or sometimes it’s referred to as LOU. Additional Living Expenses and Loss of Use are portions of your policy determine a dollar amount or time limit on what they will pay for temporary housing.
If you’re reading this and struggling to find a hotel with availability please let me know; I have access to a lot of hotel databases to locate availability. Options close to home will not be available. Prepare to go to Dallas or Houston if you’re evacuating. Things will obviously change and look very different post storm.
Please stay safe.
ForgivenYo on August 29th, 2021 at 03:34 UTC »
Power company employee. We are getting in place to ride it out and then get to work. Hopefully everyone gets out and it ends up being less severe than predicted.
Daiiga on August 29th, 2021 at 02:30 UTC »
The waffle houses in the area have all closed. If you are still not convinced that you need to evacuate, let this be your sign to get out now.