Hurricane Ida lashes Louisiana, knocks out New Orleans power

A man passes by a section of roof that was blown off of a building in the French Quarter by Hurricane Ida winds in New Orleans (Eric Gay/AP)

Hurricane Ida blasted ashore the Louisiana coast on Sunday as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US.

The storm knocked out power to all of New Orleans, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River as it rushed from the Louisiana coast into one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors.