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Hurricane Ida: Baton Rouge hotels filled with first responders, residents hunker down

Hurricane Ida is to hit the Gulf Coast on August 28, and winds of more than 100 mph are expected

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: The city of Baton Rouge is gearing up for Hurricane Ida, which is expected to hit the Gulf Coast of the US on Saturday, August 28. Hotels are out of availability as rooms got booked in a matter of hours. “In the last eight hours, we filled 2,000 guest rooms tonight on the books,” Downtown Hilton general manager Tim Kuhlman said.

However, the hotel rooms have not been taken by the general public. The majority of the occupants are first responders and personnel from the electric company. Kuhlman added: “Most of what we have are first responders and the electric company, and those who are going to deal with the aftermath of what we are about to have.”

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Apart from hotels, local supermarkets, like Calandro's also witnessed a rush in the last few hours. People are stocking up on basic things before Hurricane Ida hits the city and traps people inside their homes. Stocking Clerk John Davis said, “It started picking first thing in the morning about 8 am It's been very busy ever since, crowd very packed.” Things that quickly went out of stock were bottled water and sliced bread.

People were also stocking up on fuel as Costco’s gas station was filled with drivers to get fuel to last them through the storm. The same situation was seen at hardware stores in the area, like Goodwood Hardware and Outdoors. Shift Manager Anna Millet remarked, “People are really taking this seriously. We've been going through a lot of batteries, propane, lots of propane.”

Hurricane Ida impacted Cuba drastically on Friday, August 27, before making its way towards the US. On Friday, its maximum sustained winds were reported at around 80 miles per hour. But there is a probability that it may become stronger while reaching Louisiana. Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in the state despite Ida being a tropical storm at the time. During a media conference on Friday, he alerted people that Ida was “going to be a very serious storm,” and urged them to do “all that we can to be prepared.”

The 54-year-old Democrat also tweeted, “Let's use the limited time we have to prepare for Hurricane #Ida. This storm will be serious and we have until nightfall tomorrow to make sure that we're in the best position possible once the storm is here. Be smart, be prepared and be safe. #lagov #lawx.”

President Joe Biden also tweeted about Ida from his official account. He wrote, “This afternoon, I held a call with the head of FEMA and governors ahead of Hurricane Ida to discuss preparations for what is expected to be a dangerous storm. If you are in the storm’s path, please comply with local evacuation instructions.”

Meanwhile, people on Twitter were sharing their thoughts about the natural disaster. A user wrote, “It’s sad  that New Orleans is once again facing a catastrophic hurricane, it was 16 years tomorrow that Katrina nearly wiped out the city to my friends in the storm path, please take shelter & stay safe…. #HurricaneIda.” Another one shared a picture and wrote, “Don't like looks of sky over Gulf. Hoping Hurricane Ida hasn't jogged east. Hoping it's just so huge, impacts from outer edges visible here.” “When you should be evacuating and leaving the state but you have to go to work instead of trying to protect / prepare for a category 4-5 hurricane #HurricaneIda,” the third user added.