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Hurricane Ida Pummels Louisiana On 16-Year Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina; Interview With Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser (R-LA) About The State's Preparedness Ahead Of Hurricane Ida; Interview With Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna About The Impact Of Hurricane Ida; Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 29, 2021 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Hurricane Ida is pummeling Louisiana right now after making landfall near Port Fourchon a short time ago. It is now officially tied for the strongest storm ever to hit the state with 150-mile-per-hour winds. The extremely dangerous category 4 storm is thrashing the area. Its winds and storm surge are so strong, Ida literally overpowered the mighty Mississippi River, partially reversing the flow of the river near New Orleans.

Officials across Louisiana are warning that if you're near the eye of the storm, help is not on the way. One New Orleans official saying if you call 911 because you want someone to get to you, quote, "I'm sorry. We're passed that point." And the worst could be yet to come. Rolling tornado warnings, highways under water and storm surges that could reach more than 10 feet. All of this danger 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina arrived on Louisiana's shores.

CNN is on the scene across the Gulf Coast. Let's start with Brian Todd in New Orleans, a city all too familiar with hurricane devastation.

Brian, you're right in the thick of it. We can see the winds are picking up. A short time ago, as you know, emergency services were suspended there. What can you tell us?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, the intensity has really picked up just in the last hour since I last spoke to you. You can see some debris flying down Toulouse Street here in the French Quarter. There's debris everywhere here as the winds have really intensified over the last few minutes. Take a look down the street here. You can see some of this debris. I'm going to pivot this way and our photojournalist Jake Scheuer and I are going to take you through some of this.

Look at this collapsed roof. It just came down across this intersection. You've got insulation and all of this stuff. It was a very violent crash just before we got on the scene here. We have to keep our eyes and ears constantly open because I can show you one other thing as we turn the corner here. And you can see how the wind and rain dynamic really change. A piece of flying glass just came down here, crashed down here, struck a member of our security team. He's OK but it's one of the things you really have to watch out for because there's flying debris all over the place.

You'll see my eyes dart back and forth because I've got to constantly watch out for me and my team to make sure that we do not get hit with something. There are stuff flying around. Now watch as I come across the Decatur Street here, you can see how the dynamic changes. It's a little calmer down that street where I just was. But when you get on Decatur Street, where it's just one more of a wide street, you can see the wind and the rain dynamic just get much stronger.

Look at the rain bands coming down Decatur Street here. Now flooding is going to be an issue here in New Orleans. As officials say they could get 15 to 20 inches of rain before this is all over with. New Orleans averages 62 inches of rain a year. They've already got 65 inches. So this is going to really add to some of the record totals.

We also just found out a short time ago, Jim, two sewage pumping stations east and west Banks of New Orleans have been affected by power outages. So that could lead to some sewage backups. That's another problem that they're going to have to be dealing with in the coming hours. But they are going to address those sewage backups with a generator at those pumping stations. So they're hoping to get to those.

I'm going to just swing down here. You can see again just the violent nature of this wind and rain as this has really picked up in the last hour or so. And we know it's going to get worse in the next few hours. Both the governor and the mayor, LaToya Cantrell, have said people, do not go out in this stuff. If you call 911 right now, we don't think we're going to be able to get to you for the next several hours. You've got to hunker down right now.

You know, of course, people are trying to evacuate. But the mayor did say before this storm hit they couldn't order a mandatory evacuation simply because there wasn't time to get everyone out. The storm intensified so quickly. And they didn't want people to get stuck on the highways in conditions like this, Jim. So this is where you see the dynamic really changing with this storm.

We're getting clobbered here. And we've got to keep our -- sorry. Got to keep our eyes out for some flying debris. So it's getting a little dangerous right here.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, Brian. Take cover. Be careful. We'll get back to you. Great reporting as always. But you can see those winds really picking up in New Orleans. Just a nasty scene in the big easy right now.

Brian Todd, thanks so much.

Now to Houma, Louisiana, a city not too far from where Hurricane Ida made landfall. Jason Carroll is there.

You can see things have really gone downhill, Jason, since the last time we spoke with you. How are things on your end?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I got tell you, Jim, as you said it best, the conditions here have deteriorated to a point where it's really become severe. The eye wall now just about upon us. Still not here yet. But you can see these bands of wind and rain that had steadily been coming through here in Houma. Makes it very difficult at this point to stand up, but, you know, I checked in with the sheriff to try to get an indication of how the rest of this city is faring. You can take a look at the severe wind bands that are blowing through here.

[16:05:03]

The sheriff has already reported downed power lines, downed trees, some damage to homes out here in Houma. When I asked him to specify the type of damage that he's seen so far he could just say some damage to homes.

I asked also at this point if he's received any emergency calls from people here calling in saying that they need help or they need assistance. And, Jim, thankfully, so far, he says despite all that you're seeing out here, and as severe and as dramatic as it looks, he says so far at least, so far at this point, he has not received any emergency calls from people in Houma in need of assistance.

Now, I have to tell you, again, eye wall is just about upon us. That is going to be even more severe than what we're seeing now. Then there's going to be a moment of calm or so. And then we're going to get the back end of it as well. And so there might be some folks who are out here might think as the eye wall comes over us and there's a moment of calm -- hard to imagine in all of this.

But then there's a moment of call that you can come out, but that's exactly what emergency officials say you should not be doing. They want people to stay and shelter in place. Not come out and to stay in place. Already just from being out here, again, power lines. Our power is out here at this location throughout the city of Houma. And they say the best thing to do at this point is to shelter in place.

I can tell you I've been through some category 5 hurricanes. Hurricane Rita -- hold on. And Hurricane Wilma. And even though this is not a category 5, it's a category 4, as we all well know, when you're standing out here, it pretty much all feels the same. So everyone here in Houma hunkering down and preparing as the eye wall now is just about upon us -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Hunkering down in Houma is right. Jason, you do that as well. We'll get back to you. But you can really see the winds picking up. And I've been in one of those eyes before. And it can be eerie. It can be very calm but make no mistake. There is more nastiness to come.

All right, Jason Carroll, thank you so much.

Let's go to the CNN Weather Center where Jennifer Gray is tracking this storm.

Jennifer, I mean, one of the things that is just I think really apparent as we look at how things have gone downhill and Brian Todd's live shot, Jason Carroll's live shot is, you know, when Ida was making landfall, it was sort of hitting some of those parts of Louisiana where maybe we didn't have cameras because it wasn't a very densely populated area.

But now that eye is hitting areas like Houma, those really tough bands of the storm are hitting New Orleans. And so now our reporters in the field are really seeing the devastating effects of this storm.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we're seeing it firsthand. And the conditions are going to deteriorate rapidly over the next half hour or so for our crews. Especially for Jason. He should probably get to his safe place now as that inner eye wall approaches him, approaches Houma, and you talk about being in the eye, the calmness. The back side of that eye wall is going to hit you without any warning.

It's very different than the front half of the storm coming where the winds gradually increase, the rain increases, things like that. When you hit that back side of the eye wall and you're outside trying to take pictures of the eye, you're going to have no warning. It's incredibly dangerous. So just take note of that.

The winds are going to be fierce over the next several hours for places like Houma, New Orleans. You're on the east side of the storm. The eye is going to pass just to your west. And so we are going to get sustained winds, 100, 115 miles per hour in this area shaded in pink. This is an extreme wind warning. And so this is almost like an EF-2 tornado, for example. Just making a slow roll across this region.

You need to prepare for this just as you would a tornado warning. Get to a place away from windows. This hurricane could easily pick up objects, trees, debris, anything, and it will turn into a projectile. Could come through your window. So get away from windows, get into the bottom floor of your home, and just stay there for the next several hours as this storm continues to make a slow crawl up through Louisiana.

What's interesting, too, is the eye actually looks better organized now than when it came right onshore. You have to remember a lot of south Louisiana, a lot of marshland right here. Very warm water. As it was coming onshore, so the eye actually got even better organized just after landfall. Winds are around 100 miles per hour most likely, at least the gusts are around Houma. As we speak, they're going to continue to get worse within the next 30 minutes or so.

We've already had wind reports of 148 miles per hour in Grand Isle. Port Fourchon, right around 153.

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This 148 has an asterisk by it because the gauge broke at that point. So most likely we had winds even higher. Look at this. New Orleans Lake Front already experiencing hurricane-force wind gusts. And you will continue to experience those for the next several hours. It's not going to get better until that storm not only reaches next to you, when it's just west of you, but it's going to have to pass northwest of you before you finally see those hurricane wind gusts subside. So you're going to be in the brunt of it. You are right now and you'll

continue to be so for the next several hours. We could see 110-mile- per-hour winds or more in this area shaded in pink. And then as the storm moves to the north, we're going to hang on to those hurricane force winds over the next several, several hours into tonight overnight, and then into tomorrow morning. A lot of areas will still get those hurricane gusts.

This storm is weakening very, very slowly, Jim. Over the last couple of hours, the winds have only come down about 10 miles per hour. So it's still a very dangerous category 4 storm. And just to reiterate, everyone in the south Louisiana area, near Houma, Lafitte, all the Golden Meadow and even into New Orleans already getting those hurricane gusts. So now is the time to get to your safe place, Jim.

ACOSTA: And Jennifer, two quick questions for you. One is, I am also extremely impressed with how well defined that eye wall is when you look at that radar. Does that have any effect on just the sheer impact of this storm and how devastating it might be? That is impressive when a storm comes ashore like that, a hurricane comes ashore like that and the eye is still that well defined. I know it's probably happened before but that is standing out to me.

And then one of the other things I wanted to ask you about was, this anecdote that the Mississippi River, the flow of the Mississippi River was reversed by this storm. I can't imagine this is the first time that that has ever happened. But how remarkable is that to you?

GRAY: It is incredibly remarkable. We know the volume of water that flows downstream in the Mississippi River. It was about a four-hour time span where the wind and the surge was so powerful that it actually caused the Mississippi River to flow upstream. It's now flowing in the proper direction so the Mississippi River is now flowing downstream again but it just shows you the power of water, the power of the surge that can actually reverse the Mississippi River. It's remarkable.

And to your first question about the structure of the eye wall. You don't see that every day. Normally you see a storm come on shore and pretty quickly after you'll start to see the eye become a little bit more ragged, the fact that this became more organized just shows you the strength of this storm. The more symmetrical the eye is, the more powerful the storm is. The more organized the storm is, so it's a sure bet that we definitely have winds of 150 miles per hour right around that eye wall.

It's remarkable. I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of marsh and water that is in south Louisiana. So it was able to hold onto its intensity. And it's able to hold on now even after landfall. So it's incredibly unfortunate all these towns in south Louisiana, very special places that are experiencing winds like this for this long of a duration. So we are going to see catastrophic damage across many of these towns in south Louisiana, Jim.

ACOSTA: And as that storm heads inland as well. All right, Jennifer Gray, thanks so much. Hurricane Ida now ties Laura as the strongest storm to ever make

landfall in Louisiana. Joining us on the phone is Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

Lieutenant Governor Nungesser, we've spoken before. It's been some time. I know you have so much experience dealing with these storms over the years. You have been a public servant in your state for a long time. You are in Baton Rouge now. I suppose it's not that bad yet, but I -- from what my colleague Jennifer Gray was talking about, it sounds like this may still be a very well-defined and dangerous storm when it gets to where you are.

LT. GOV. BILLY NUNGESSER (R), LOUISIANA: Absolutely. You know, we usually don't see a hurricane get that far inland as a category 1 or 2. And this will surely bring that to Baton Rouge where a lot of structures that have never been through this before. So along the coast it's expected. So it will do a lot of damage as it travels through Louisiana. And it's just being on the anniversary of Katrina makes it a little more unsettling knowing what people are going through.

I just spoke to Dean Blanchett who his seafood dock is completely gone and half of his house has disappeared from Grand Isle. And he's been through so many of these. And to talk to these people that are just -- it's sad. It's going to be a long recovery.

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ACOSTA: And when you know folks like Dean Blanchard who has been through so many of these storms, when he is feeling the effects to the extent that you just mentioned, that tells you how severe all of this is.

Lieutenant Governor, right now we know the number one priority is getting through the storm. But is Louisiana prepared, do you think, for the days and months ahead to deal with this kind of catastrophic damage? Is this taking you by surprise as to how severe this is coming ashore?

NUNGESSER: Yes, you know, we kind of hope it's not going to be as bad as projected. And this one seems to be every bit of that. Yes, you know, unfortunately we've been through preparing so many times that we weren't having to be activated. The governor's team, Wildlife and Fisheries, Cajun Navy, all those people are ready to deploy to rescue those people that stayed behind. And hopefully we will rescue them and not find them perished because of these floodwaters and they stayed behind for something they shouldn't have.

ACOSTA: And that is just going to be a desperate situation when rescue crews, when first responders head into those communities and parishes. But I want to ask you, Lieutenant Governor. We know because of COVID- 19 and the Delta variant that the hospitals were already in pretty dire situation. They were in dire straits before Hurricane Ida made landfall and started to wreak havoc across your state.

What about the hospitals? Are they prepared? What kind of conversations are you having with those hospital officials about how they are doing?

NUNGESSER: Well, you know, I know that the governor has reached out to the president and knowing that we may need additional resources deployed here in Louisiana to handle those people that may be injured, that need to get medical attention because you're right. The hospitals were filled up before this hurricane. And it's going to be a stretch to handle any influx of damage of people that may need critical care right after this storm.

It was a tough thing to see many of these hospitals that under normal circumstances may have been shut down and evacuated get through this storm without a lot of problems. But we know those medical professionals, they hunkered in, they brought some clothes and stayed at those hospitals to care for those critically ill people. And we've got some real champions here in Louisiana, as everyone does.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. They are all heroes. And I don't have to tell you how devastating Katrina was. You're well versed in that area. That hits as a category 3. It was a category 4 just before it came ashore and then weakened it to a category 3. Ida, a category 4 and just a -- it looks like a vicious storm as it's coming ashore.

What is your biggest concern right now? What is standing out to you as you are seeing this come in?

NUNGESSER: Well, I'm talking to people that know of people that stayed behind. And that worries me. I rode out Katrina 14 miles. Never again will I do it. We rescued 34 people by air boat. Floating mobile homes off rooftops. And that storm, it seems like this storm is going to be a lot worse. I hope there's rooftops and floating mobile homes to rescue people from because the size of this storm and the power, there may not be a lot left in its path where it came ashore and that tidal surge wiped out homes and businesses.

There may not be attics for people to climb into as we saw in Katrina. So we are hopeful, but we'll be ready to rescue those people immediately after the winds die down.

ACOSTA: And just very quickly, you do think that the levees are going to be OK in New Orleans? I know that's been a subject of -- an area of concern. Sounds like they'll hold?

NUNGESSER: Yes, we do. I think New Orleans should be OK. There is $2 billion in federal levees being constructed in my parish. A lot of those levees are brand-new. They have no vegetation, and we're concerned that that raw dirt could wash away pretty quickly. And that is a concern. We needed a couple more years before those levees could grow vegetation and really hold up the storm surge. So we're concerned about those levees with raw dirt washing away as well in Plaquemines Parish.

ACOSTA: All right, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, we know you have your work cut out for you in the coming days. Best of luck to you. Thanks so much for joining us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

NUNGESSER: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thanks so much.

NUNGESSER: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thank you for your time.

Nearly 300,000 customers without power in Louisiana right now. That number is going to go up, no doubt about that. And the storm is nowhere near over. We can see from our crews who are all across the storm area as Hurricane Ida is coming ashore there. Just sending us some devastating pictures of the damage and destruction.

Our special coverage continues. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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ACOSTA: And you're seeing some video come in from Golden Meadow, Louisiana, which is feeling the brunt of Hurricane Ida as it makes landfall. You can see a reporter there from one of our affiliates holding up a wind gauge. And then look at some of these structures. The roofs of these structures, the home right there, just seeing that roof being peeled off as that wind is just hammering this part of Louisiana.

Here's another structure. Looks like maybe some apartments where the roof has just completely blown off there. Our thanks to that reporter there with the affiliate who just sent in that video to us. But just a sense of the devastating effects of Hurricane Ida as this category 4 storm makes landfall in Louisiana.

We're going to, of course, continue to stay on top of this. And one coastal city feeling the effects of this storm is Morgan City, Louisiana. Joining me now by phone is Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna.

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Mayor, what are the conditions like in your city? Are things worsening there? It looks like you're right in the thick of it.

MAYOR LEE DRAGNA, MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA: Yes, they're starting to -- the conditions are deteriorating pretty good. I think we're about 50 or 60-mile-an-hour winds. A lot of trees down, power out. Power outage. Some issues at the hospital. A few things. Not horribly bad but it's only going to get worse as the day goes on.

ACOSTA: And you mentioned the hospital. How are things holding up at the hospital?

DRAGNA: Oh, they were having a few issues with the generator switching over. So they -- some electricians went over there and helped them out. But they are doing OK now. They're fine.

ACOSTA: And what's your main concern right now as the storm and effects of this storm make their way toward Morgan City. As we look at this on our radar, we can see the eye heading towards Houma, Louisiana. Morgan City is off to the west of that but it's coming your way, as you were just saying. What is your big concern right now?

DRAGNA: Wind. The wind and loss of power. You know, we have a lot of older people in this town. And we need -- a lot of them need oxygen saturation units, stuff like that because of COVID. (INAUDIBLE) our city. So they need electricity. So we've got to figure that out as we go. A lot of people left. They heed the warning, but a lot of people stayed, too, though. So we're going to have to deal with that when this is over.

ACOSTA: And I was just about to ask you that. Do you know how many of your residents stayed behind? And what's the terrain like in Morgan City? Will emergency crews, first responders be able to get to your residents who did stay behind?

DRAGNA: Yes, we're not worried about. We have a really good levee system and a really good pumping system. We're not worried about that. You know, first responders better get to them, just going to -- might have to cut our way through to them through the trees, you know, if there are too many trees have fallen.

ACOSTA: And what are you telling your residents if they call for an emergency, if they call 911, and that sort of thing? Do they have to wait it out or can your crews still get out at this point? What is the guidance you're giving your residents?

DRAGNA: It's completely up to the fire department. If the fire department says they can go and they want to go, they'll go. And right now, they'll go. You know, but if it gets much worse, they're just not going to be able to go. You can't put all of our equipment and all of our people in harm's way, you know. You know, we're not going to do that. If the fire chief says no, it's no. You know, so, it's his call.

ACOSTA: Right. And you mentioned that many of the residents in your city are senior citizens. Do you get the sense that because of the COVID situation that more people decided to stay behind and hunker down? Do you understand what the rationale might be for some of these residents as to why they made that decision?

DRAGNA: I do. I believe that 100 percent. And a lot of them told me that. I can't argue with them. I just -- I can't help them right now. That's the problem.

ACOSTA: So they're telling you, I'm staying home because of COVID. I don't want to catch the Delta variant, that sort of thing?

DRAGNA: That's correct.

ACOSTA: All right. Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna, I certainly understand that concern, but we appreciate your time. Thanks so much. Good luck to you and those fire officials and the folks at the hospital who are dealing with this. Thanks very much for your time.

DRAGNA: Thank you. ACOSTA: All right. And our coverage continues of Hurricane Ida in just

a moment. We'll be back in just a moment with more.

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ACOSTA: Want to check back in on Houma, Louisiana, a city not too far from where Hurricane Ida made landfall. CNN's Jason Carroll is there.

It's right on top of you right now, it seems, Jason. What can you tell us?

CARROLL: It is, Jim. And we've actually shifted positions to a safer location next to a brick structure to give us more of a barrier against what we're experiencing right now as the eye is upon us. Behind us, this tree has fallen. The tree has come uprooted behind us. You can see that here. And more reports coming in from throughout Houma. More downed trees. Power lines. Damage to structures.

Tough to see out there as you can see the eye wall of Hurricane Ida coming down on Houma at the moment as we speak. Again, emergency officials are basically telling folks that you are sheltering in place. You know, once the eye passes and there might be a bit of a respite, a bit of calm, continue to shelter in place and to stay in place because then you're going to have the back side of the storm that's going to come in as well.

When speaking to emergency officials I asked them, I said, what's going to dictate what you do next and how you proceed once the storm moves on? And basically was told, look, they say they're going to let Mother Nature take its course to tell them what they can do and when they can do it. Again, I want to emphasize in speaking to the sheriff, I asked him, and this was just about an hour or so ago if he had received any emergency calls from folks in need of assistance or needing help and he says so far, at least so far, he still has not received -- they have not received emergency calls for people needing assistance.

Again, there's been about 60 percent to 80 percent of the folks who live in Houma who heeded those evacuation warnings knowing that this was going to be upon them and got out.

[16:35:02]

But that still leaves a significant number of people who are sheltering in place. So waiting now for the eye of the storm to pass over. Then perhaps a bit of a break and then we're going to have the back end of this storm as well. But right now Houma is right in the center of it -- Jim.

ACOSTA: It certainly is, Jason, and you're in the center of it.

Let me ask you. We're hearing now from Louisiana officials that are about 400,000 power outages in Louisiana. That is up from the number we had earlier this afternoon. When you're looking around the area off camera, what are you seeing, Jason, in terms of -- are emergency responders out and about at this point or are they hunkering down? Are you seeing people try to look and see what's happening? You know, looky-loos, that sort of thing. Are you seeing any of that?

CARROLL: Good question, Jim. And a couple of things. In terms of emergency responders, I do know that a number of them are hunkering down at a secure location next to the courthouse. That is a brick structure so they are hunkering down and not going out. They are waiting for this to pass before moving out and doing any assessments.

I can tell you that at this point, power is out in the area. We've seen and heard, you know, power outages coming through. We've seen -- we can see right now, you can see that light there, that sort of flickering there. We've seen arks of power going through here. So at this point, I've not seen one looky-loo out here. It's just too dangerous. The winds are just too strong. The only people out here are us.

And again, we've now shifted our location to a position against a brick structure where there's a brick overhang and we also have an area here where we can shield ourselves a little bit more from these, you know, very severe wind gusts that are coming through here. But in terms of emergency vehicles, they made it very clear to me, Jim. They are staying hunkering down until all of this passes.

And then, again, they're going to let Mother Nature dictate how they're going to get out there. What he says they're going to do is obviously try to get their motorcade out there to see if they can make their way through some of the streets to see about some of the damage and the downed power lines. There's already been -- they've already have reports of these downed power lines in Houma throughout the area. So basically what they're going to be doing is waiting for all of this to pass through before they head out.

ACOSTA: Jason, great report. And our thanks to your photographer as well for hanging in there. And we know you're taking all the safety precautions necessary to bring us that live report. Thanks so much, Jason. We'll get back to you shortly.

And as we take a quick break, I want to show you some live pictures of the situation in New Orleans. Just a nasty scene in the Big Easy as Hurricane Ida is starting to lash that part of Louisiana. It's not made its way to New Orleans just yet, but you can see from that situation in Houma where Jason is, those kinds of winds will be heading to New Orleans. So if people are watching us in New Orleans, don't look out the window and think this is the worst of it. The worst of it is coming your way. So stay tuned. Stay inside. Stay safe.

Our special coverage of Hurricane Ida continues after this. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:42:53]

ACOSTA: Things are definitely getting more intense in New Orleans right now where CNN's Nadia Romero is standing by for us.

Nadia, the wind and storm surge are so strong that we know they partially reversed the flow of the Mississippi River near New Orleans. We heard that earlier this afternoon from one of our meteorologists. What are you seeing on your end? It looks like the wind is picking up. It's getting as intense as we saw with Jason Carroll a little while ago in Houma.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Jim. And we -- last time we talked to you we're over by Canal Street, closer to the French Quarter. We've moved. We're by St. Charles Avenue. This is St. Charles Avenue and behind me is a trolley. There's a car coming so we're going to move out of the way. There are people moving about here during the storm.

So this is St. Charles Avenue and on the other side of the street is the trolley system. It's unreal being out here. I mean, it feels like you're on the set of a movie, but it's a movie starring Hurricane Ida, and it's real life. So take a look at this building. The awning on this building ripped off because of Ida. All of that strong wind. And it has just been lifted up and banging back against the window. We're just waiting for it to come flying off at any moment.

And then if you look on the ground, you have pieces of the roof. This is part of the roof from a building behind our photojournalist Dominik Swan. So that was ripped off during the storm and now is lying on the street here. It's why we have 400,000-some people without power because this part of town is full of trees. And those trees are breaking limbs everywhere and they're crashing onto those power lines.

And power is out. And it is so unsafe for people to be out so those emergency crews, those emergency responders are not out right now because they're trying to keep themselves safe and then they'll go out and help people when they can -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And what can you tell us about the -- can you tell us a bit more about that building just to the side of you where you can see the awning? Looks like maybe the awning or umbrellas have been ripped off of that little rooftop restaurant there?

[16:45:05]

Did that just happen in the last couple of minutes? Does that go to how, you know, serious this is becoming?

ROMERO: Yes, this is something that has only gotten worse. So when we arrived maybe about 20 minutes ago, still portions of the awning were attached to the building. Now you can see it's all the way ripped off and lying on the side of that railing there. The railing isn't going to hold it up forever, right? Especially knowing that the worst of Ida is yet to come. So that will likely come down.

This part of town is used to having those power outages because it's an older part of town, because they have large trees. Some of these buildings, though, were able to survive other storms but Ida just too strong for it now -- Jim. ACOSTA: Absolutely. And we know as the weather intensifies in your

area, those awnings across the street, they may just blow right off of that rooftop there. So you stay safe, Nadia. We know you will and your crew. Great pictures from your photographer as well. Thanks so much for that report. We appreciate it.

And coming up next, much more coverage of our live reporting on Hurricane Ida. That is coming up next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

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[16:50:49]

ACOSTA: Our continuing coverage of Hurricane Ida as it's battering Louisiana right now. CNN's Derek Van Dam is on the scene for us in Houma, just northwest of where the storm made landfall.

Derek, you've just been getting hammered there all afternoon. But it looks pretty bad right now. What can you tell us?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Jim, these are literally scenes of my worst nightmares. We are staring down the eye of a monster category 4 hurricane. And it is unleashing its fury on Houma, Louisiana, as we speak. I have to continue to peer behind me because a large tree has just fallen down, and I want to make sure that it doesn't travel this way.

What you can't see here to my right and directly to my left is that I do have protection between this concrete building. But this is what it's like to ride out a category 4 hurricane. It is extreme. It is loud. And it is literally feeling like a million pin pricks battering my face as these gusts come through. We've had intermittent internet connection here so we don't exactly know how close we are to the eye wall, but my guess is that we have to be 10 minutes from the strongest part of Hurricane Ida.

You have to feel for the people here and just talking to some of the residents who decided to evacuate to this hotel where we are at, and they have told us that they are pleased that it is at least a hurricane that's making landfall during the day because they feared for the residents who did not come to these shelters. Did not come to these hotels and are riding the storm out in their homes.

If it was dark, this would be an absolute catastrophic disaster for these people to live through something like this. We at least have the safety of a building in front of us -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And we're glad that you're taking those precautions.

Derek, let me just ask you, since you've been there all afternoon, does it feel like things have progressively gotten worse to this point? Are these the most intense effects of the storm that you've felt so far? VAN DAM: All right. Yes, this is without a doubt the strongest part of

the storm that we've felt so far, and just --

ACOSTA: Wow.

VAN DAM: Let these visuals play out.

ACOSTA: Unbelievable.

VAN DAM: The reason I can stand here is only because of this concrete wall to my left. I am literally seeing trees topple over behind me. We've got trees on -- we've got trees on top of vehicles in our parking lot. We have no power here. We're running off of this vehicle's AC generated power. And we're thankful we have it, but every once in a while, some of the strongest wind gusts take and knock this Suburban, large SUV, up and down.

You can see that rocking motion. Just because of the pure strength of the wind. Now I'm not a particularly tall man. I'm not a particularly heavy man. 5'10", 150 pounds. Maybe a bit too much information for our viewers, but let me tell you why that's important. Because without this protection from this wall here, if I step 10 feet behind me, this small little man would be knocked on his ass -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Derek, I tell you, you weigh a little bit more than that right now with all that water on you. But you stay safe there and hunker down in that crew vehicle that we have you in. But appreciate that live coverage.

And you can see Derek right now just having a tough time maintaining his footing. We'll check back in with Derek. Let him take cover and get safe. We'll get back to him in just a minute.

Derek, thanks so much.

More of our special coverage of Hurricane Ida is coming up next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:55:00]

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ACOSTA: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We're following breaking news this hour.

Louisiana getting slammed right now by Hurricane Ida which made landfall just hours ago as an extremely dangerous category 4 storm. To put it simply, Ida is every bit as serious as forecasters predicted. Maybe even worse.

We're talking about winds of 145 miles per hour. Life-threatening storm surge and torrential rain.