Hurricane Ida rapidly intensifies into dangerous Category 4, US deploys 500 FEMA emergency personnel

The National Hurricane Center predicted Ida would become an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph (209 kph) winds, which happened early Sunday ahead of an expected afternoon landfall. 

New Orleans: Hurricane Ida was rapidly intensifying early Sunday, becoming a dangerous Category 4 hurricane on track for a potentially devastating landfall on the Louisiana coast while emergency officials in the region grappled with opening shelters for displaced evacuees despite the risks of spreading the coronavirus. The National Hurricane Center predicted Ida would become an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph (209 kph) winds, which happened early Sunday ahead of an expected afternoon landfall. The storm arrived on the exact date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier. Ida was a Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.