Heavy Traffic Reported Leaving New Orleans as Hurricane Ida Intensifies Over Gulf of Mexico

Heavy traffic was reported leaving New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, August 28, ahead of Hurricane Ida’s expected landfall on Sunday.

Footage by @trubeautybykt shows slow and heavy traffic moving along the I-10 leaving New Orleans towards Slidell.

On Friday, the New Orleans Mayor told a press conference that there was no time for mandatory evacuations or to set up highway contraflow procedures, according to local reports.

On Saturday, the National Hurricane Center warned of Hurricane Ida’s potential impacts to parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. There was a potential for a “life-threatening” storm surge, “catastrophic” wind damage, and flooding rainfall to hit the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday, according to the center. Credit: @trubeautybykt via Storyful