Evacuations, Fear In US As Hurricane Ida Grows To Category 4 Storm

"Major Hurricane Ida continues to strengthen... Now a dangerous category 4 hurricane," the NHC said on its website.

Hurricane Ida was upgraded to a Category Four storm, the US National Hurricane Center said Sunday, staying on course to hit New Orleans with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (209 kilometers per hour). Sunday, when Ida is due to make landfall, marks 16 years since Katrina, the devastating hurricane that flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, left 1,800 people dead, and caused billions of dollars in damage. "Major Hurricane Ida continues to strengthen... Now a dangerous category 4 hurricane," the NHC said on its website. "Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it makes landfall along the Louisiana coast this afternoon," the center earlier said in its latest advisory when Ida was raised to Category Three.