More than one million power outages are being reported in in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Hurricane Idahas since been downgraded to a tropical storm by theNational Hurricane Center as it continues to move over southwestern Mississippi. Ida initially made landfall near Port Fourchon Sunday (August 29) afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane before being downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday morning (August 30). The National Hurricane Center confirmed Ida reached wind speeds of 150 MPH, tying Hurricane Katrina on the 16th anniversary of the devastating storm, as well as Laura (2020) and the Last Island Hurricane (1856) as the most powerful storms to ever hit the state.
Captain Brennan Matherne is Public Information Officer for the Lafouche Parish Sheriff's Office, the area of Southeast Louisiana hit hardest by Hurricane Ida. Captain Matherne joined The Scott Sands Show by Zoom to report on the storm's destruction. Scroll down to watch.
We also spoke with Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes, who says the Mississippi Gulf Coast "got lucky" and was spared major damage from this storm (click here to listen). Angela Watson, Division Senior VP Programming for iHeartMedia based in New Orleans, reports on the city's complete loss of power and struggle residents will face over the next several weeks (click here to listen).