Hurricane Ida roared into the Louisiana coast as a mighty lioness but entered Marion County Sunday night into Monday morning more like a lamb. The powerful Category 4 made landfall in Port Fourchon on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Ida tied as the fifth strongest storm to ever hit the mainland U.S., with maximum sustained winds at 150 mph.
All the weather models showed what looked like a potentially catastrophic storm coming to Marion County. However, as Sunday evening progressed, the strong gusts of winds and heavy rainfall never materialized. Monday morning, citizens woke up to see, for the most part, that everyone had been spared.
PRVEPA announced at 8 a.m. on Monday that a total of 10,000 members were without power. However, Tuesday morning, they announced they were down to 125 homes without power, mostly in Marion County.
Overall the worst damage in the area was contained to downed trees and power lines.
Both city and county employees were out early Monday already working on clearing the roads.
Ahead of the storm, the county Board of Supervisors and the city Board of Aldermen held emergency meetings to declare a local state of emergency. Schools, businesses and government offices were all closed on Monday as a precaution.
“Thank God we were spared,” Mayor Justin McKenzie said Monday morning.
