New Orleans mayor calls for residents outside of levee system to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ida landfall

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has called for the mandatory evacuation for all New Orleans residents outside the city's protective levee system as Hurricane Ida approaches Louisiana. Citizens inside the levee zones with medical needs have also been encouraged to begin voluntary evacuations now, as the forecast for the storm worsens. 

"The bottom line and the greatest takeaway is that we do have a major storm heading our way," Cantrell said in a press conference Friday. "This is the time to take action." Cantrell announced that the city of New Orleans has also declared a state of emergency, only hours after Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards signed a state of emergency for the state to help weather the storm in addition to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases.