Louisiana braced for ‘life-altering’ Hurricane Ida

A man, using pieces of plastic against the rain caused by Hurricane Ida, walks on a road leading to Batabano, in the Mayabeque province of Cuba (AP)

Residents across Louisiana’s coast are preparing for the potentially “life-altering” Hurricane Ida, which is expected to bring winds as high as 140mph when it slams ashore.

A combination of voluntary and mandatory evacuations have been called in cities and communities across the region including New Orleans, where the mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation for areas outside the city’s levee system and a voluntary evacuation for residents inside it.