Almost 800 rescued in St. John the Baptist Parish after Hurricane Ida
At least three people have died as a result of the storm.
Ida is barreling through Louisiana after making landfall in the state as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon.
It was one of the strongest hurricanes on record -- by both wind speed and pressure -- to roar ashore in Louisiana.
Ida, now a tropical storm, is hitting on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina unleashed a series of events, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people and leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.
Latest headlines:
Northern eyewall of storm approaching Louisiana
Wind gusts of 121 mph have been reported as the eye of Hurricane Ida edges toward land.
Ida is now 40 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana, moving northwest at 14 mph.
An extreme wind warning remains in effect for parts of Louisiana, where winds up to 150 mph are expected.
-ABC News’ Dan Manzo
Residents still in southern Louisiana advised to 'take cover now'
Winds up to 150 mph are now moving onto Louisiana’s coast.
Hurricane Ida is now 50 miles south-southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, moving northwest at 15 mph.
An extreme wind warning has been issued for parts of southern Louisiana, including Houma, Louisiana, about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans.
Winds are currently gusting to 120 mph on the edge of the state, and rainfall rates of 3 inches per hour or more are now moving into Louisiana.
Widespread destructive winds of 115 mph to 150 mph with "swaths of tornado-like damage" will be spread across St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, Terrebonne Parish, Lafourche Parish, Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents who did not evacuate are advised to take cover in a reinforced interior room away from windows or under a table or other sturdy piece of furniture with blankets and mattresses covering their face and body.
-ABC News’ Dan Manzo
Ida may become strongest hurricane for wind speed in Louisiana history
With 155 mph winds expected at landfall, Ida is now forecast to surpass Hurricane Laura in 2020, and Last Island Hurricane in 1856 -- which broke state records. Simply put, Ida may become the strongest hurricane by wind speed to hit Louisiana.
ABC News' Daniel Manzo
Ida to make landfall with 155 mph winds in just a few hours: NHC
The National Hurricane Center forecasts that Ida will make landfall in a just a few hours, reaching wind speeds of up to 155 mph.
That wind speed would make Ida just 1 mph short of becoming a Category 5 storm.
ABC News' Daniel Manzo
Almost 800 rescued in St. John the Baptist Parish
Officials with St. John the Baptist Parish held a press conference Monday night, saying “almost 800 people” have been rescued after extreme flooding due to Hurricane Ida.
“This is one of the worst natural disasters I've ever seen in St. John,” Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said.
Remarkably, Hotard said there have been no reported fatalities in the parish from the storm.
“All of the missions were successful,” Hotard said. “Every call that came in for someone to be rescued out of their home, they have been rescued out of their home.”
The hard-hit town of Laplace is in St John the Baptist Parish.
-ABC News' Matt Foster