According to Reuters, over the weekend tropical storm Ida could hit like a powerful hurricane off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico around the city of New Orleans.
The storm intensified last night, the US National Hurricane Center (NCU) said today, warning most of the area.
Louisiana Gov. John Bell Edwards declared a state of emergency last night.
According to meteorologists, it is possible that a hurricane-force wind with a speed of about 177 kilometers at a time of gusts up to 210 km/h will hit the southern state of the United States.
The governor of Louisiana urged locals to prepare for the impending disaster. “This type of danger creates additional difficulties because the preparation time is very short. By Saturday evening, everyone should be at the place where they are going to hold the storm,” said Edwards.
According to the NCU, the storm is forecast to pass near or over western Cuba in the next few hours as it moves north at 24 km/h.
However, when it crosses the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Ida is expected to gain momentum and speed and pose a threat to the coasts of the US states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, meteorologists said.