Hurricane Ida strengthening as Louisiana braces for impact

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Forecasters warned residents along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast to rush preparations Saturday ahead of an intensifying Hurricane Ida, which is expected to bring winds as high as 130 mph (209 kph), life-threatening storm surge and flooding rain when it slams ashore in Louisiana on Sunday.

Coastal highways saw heavy traffic as people moved to get out of the path of Ida, which the National Hurricane Center warned could grow to an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. Trucks pulling saltwater fishing boats and campers streamed away from the coast Interstate 65 in south Alabama. Traffic jams clogged Interstate 10 heading out of New Orleans.

“We’re going to catch it head-on,” said Bebe McElroy, who was preparing to leave her home in the coastal Louisiana village of Cocodrie. “I’m just going around praying, saying, ‘Dear Lord, just watch over us.’”

A tropical depression two days earlier, Ida was strengthening so quickly that New Orleans officials said there was no time to organize a mandatory evacuation of the city’s 390,000 residents, a task that would require coordinating with the state and neighboring locales to turn highways into one-way routes away from the city.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called for a voluntary evacuation and reiterated Saturday that the time to safely leave was growing short. City officials also were preparing to open shelters for anyone displaced by the storm. They also warned those who stayed to be prepared for long power outages amid sweltering heat in the days ahead.

In Washington, President Joe Biden called Ida “very dangerous” and urged Americans “to pay attention and be prepared.” He spoke Saturday at the start of a virtual briefing with Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell on storm...