Mayor LaToya Cantrell held an emergency news conference this morning to communicate the measures the city of New Orleans is taking to prepare for Tropical Storm Ida, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana Sunday, potentially as high as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing wind speeds in excess of 130 mph. 

Mayor Cantrell has issued “mandatory evacuations of all areas outside of our levee protection system.” Further, Cantrell advised residents that the earliest signs of the storm can be expected late Saturday night, at which time hurricane preparations should be completed. Cantrell called it “a very fluid situation” but insisted that “the bottom line and the greatest takeaway is that we do have a major storm heading our way.” 

Hurricane Ida’s projected arrival in Louisiana coincides with the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane Katrina exposed fatal flaws in New Orleans’ levee system; several levees breached as a result of the storm, leaving most of the city flooded.