so houma is in the thick of it. when i checked in with emergency officials, i was asking them, i said, what is your plan of action when something like this happens? when you have a category 4 storm, descending upon you and basically what the sheriff told me is he says, what you have to do is you have to let mother nature at this point take its course. and then after that happens, you wait and see what you can do. it is his belief that as much as 60% to 80% of the people who live in houma heeded the evacuation warnings. they know this was coming and got out. there's still a number of people here hunkering down. and the prayers and thoughts are with those people right now. but, jim, the experience of being out here is similar to what i experienced when i covered hurricane rita and wilma. those were category 5 hurricanes. the wind is so intense. it literally nearly takes your breath away. it really does. it can knock you off of your feet if you're not steady. that's what it felt like during a category 5. this is a cate

at least the gusts are around houma. they're going to continue to get worse within the next 30 minutes or so. we've already had wind reports of 148 miles per hour in grand isle. port fourchon. this 148 has an asterisk because the gauge broke at that point. most likely we had winds even higher. look at this. new orleans lake front already experiencing hurricane-force wind gusts. and you'll continue to experience those for the next several hours. it's not going to get better until that storm not only reaches next to you, when it's just west of you but it's going to have to pass northwest of you before you finally see those hurricane wind gusts subside. so you'll be in the brunt of it. you are right now and you'll continue to be so for the next several hours. we could see 110-mile-per-hour winds or more in this area shaded in pink. and then as the storm moves to the north, we're going to hang onto those hurricane force winds over the next several, several hours into tonight overnight and then into tomorrow morning. a lot of

the houma nation?o. the houma are not ones to run from a storm. we have boats and lands to take care of. many people usually stay. more people evacuated this time than ever before. we have all been scattered to the wind. everyone went to whichever direction they could if they could. many just went from the low-lying areas that are just inde risk reduction levee systems to higher ground, but they, too, -- everyone is exhausted from riding out the storm and the rimless wind and rain. humbling experience i'm hearing. we know the disaster is only beginning to unfold. hurricane katrina really taught us that. yes, the storm comes through but the disaster keeps going for many years to come. decisions get made in these moments when people are completely disoriented and just trying to figure out how to get home. at this more -- at this moment, knowing all of southeast louisiana is out of power, when we get home and how we get home is a big question. amy: can you talk about your family members who did not evacua

i'm joined by national correspondent jason houma from houma, louisiana. what are you expecting to see in the hours ahead where you are? >> well, first things first. you're absolutely right, michael. it is pin drop quiet, like a ghost town here in houma. that's exactly how emergency officials want it to be. houma is under a mandate story evacuation but in terms of what we're expecting, very good question, emergency officials are expecting this could be ground zero for hurricane ida, which is why you see a number of boarded-up buildings understand around town. some sandbags in front of the building, but certainly not all around town. we've seen a number of buildings that are not boarded up as well. i spoke to the local sheriff here who told me that while houma is under a mandatory evacuation, he estimates anywhere between 60 to 80% of the residents have, in fact, decided to heed the warning, that severe warning and have evacuated, but certainly we've spoken to some folks who say they're going to stay put. so you're not going to evacuate? do you have any con

another badly hit area is houma, louisiana.eporter: it is not letting up, jim. we are now on the backside, i'm told, of the eye of this horrific storm that just continues to take down and beat down on houma. it's been like this for the past three hours. at a certain point the wind shifts direction and we saw even more damage. from my vantage point and i'm using this brick structure right next to me here just as a way to stay on my feet here. we've seen trees surrounding me, another tree over here, that's been uprooted. a tree on the other side where we started doing our live reports -- still coming in to structures here in houma. again, with all of this happening, very obviously emergency crews are going to have to hunker in place. they won't be able to get out and see the true damage of what's happened here until this storm and this beast of a hurricane has passed through here. in the meantime, all they can do is hunker down, tell those who did not evacuate to hunker down and stay in place. again, i've cover ed category 5 hurr

that's the houma civic center. so they went there to seek shelter, but when they were there at that civic center, part of the civic center's roof was blown off during the worst of the hurricane, as well. there were two structures behind me there with those lights. both of those buildings there lost part of the roof. we drove over there and saw that. that's just a quick example just in this immediate area of some of the damage that we are already seeing. emergency crews telling those folks who have been calling them saying hey, we've lost part of the roof. the sheriff saying they are unable to get to those people now. they're going to have to wait until the storm really dies down until they're able to see what's out there on the roads before they can make their way out to really get an assessment of the damage. it's already very clear from what we've seen that houma took a really big hit from hurricane ida. pamela? >> you experienced it firsthand, jason. earlier today you were standing one place and you moved and a

this is houma, louisiana. this is where morgan sheskey is hunkered down. tweet, a very similar area. here you can see that wind prip -- whipping those trees around. the people walking around could be part of our crew, could be residents in the area. houma, louisiana, our thoughts are with you as you bear the brunt of this storm right now. i'm lindsey reiser. yasmin vossoughian will be back here next saturday and saturday at 3:p.m. catch me at 6:00 p.m. eastern next weekend. our special coverage of hurricane ida continues right after the break. with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. feel the difference with downy. we did it again. verizon has been named america's most reliable network by rootmetrics. and our customers rated us #1 for network quality in america according to j.d. power. number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row. proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. at pnc bank, we believe in t

jason carroll is in houma, louisiana.o to nadia rommera live in new orleans without power and what is the latest. >> reporter: completely without power. you heard jason talk about that wind event. look at these trees that came down during the storm and what did they come down on? the power lines. so this is why the city is without power part of the reason -- [ no audio ] >> we lost the connection. as nadia was saying, part of the problem in new orleans and really across many cities in the state right now is the power situation. communications down. i believe we've reconnected with nadia. can you hear me? all right. i think we'll have to try to reconnect with her. communications in this type of connection has been hard for everyone. police departments saying that they're without communication. you could see the challenge of even kektsing with our reporters on the the ground. this is going to be very major significant issue as they try to get rescue and recovery efforts underway in many parts of the state. joining me right

houma, also, under a mandatory evacuation order. the sheriff out here basically saying that he estimates anywhere between 60 to 80% of the residents have, in fact, left town. the state's governor saying, if anyone wants to leave town, time is running out. but given all of that, there are still some folks that we found out here, mostly longtime residents, who say they plan to stay put. >> so you are not going -- you are not going to evacuate. do you have any concerns about staying? >> tornados and the wind damage. i'm more worried about what we gonna come home to. go down that way. because probably -- if -- if they have any bad damage here, we have nothing. >> is there anything that anyone can say to convince you to -- to evacuate? >> you drive me now? because i ain't getting on no interstate. i'm scared. >> you're more scared of -- >> more scared of the interstate, than staying in the house right here. >> reporter: meteorologists predicting that this is going to be a severe-wind event. it will likely be a severe-flooding event. but

we know a family here in houma.d gotten his first vaccination shot about three weeks ago. he was set to get his second tomorrow. unfortunately, he came down with covid just a few days ago. and it forced the family into this very difficult choice, alex. in that they couldn't go to a shelter because the father had tested positive. hotels wouldn't take them in either. as a result of that, they chose to hunker down and ride this storm out at home despite the mandatory evacuation order to get out. that's just one example of what so many people face who are having to ride this storm out firsthand. i can tell you, it's going to be a long right because it is only getting more powerful here. if that's a glimpse of what's to come, get ready. >> absolutely. okay, morgan cheskey, thank you so much, from home achl thank you for correcting me on my mispronunciation earlier. i endeavor not to do that again. i am glad you have moved to a better safer location since our last reporting. >>> we have learned that president biden is at

houma could end up being ground zero for hurricane sida. houma is under mandatory evacuation order. the sheriff basically saying that he estimates anywhere between 60% to 80% of residents have left town. the state's governor saying if anyone wants to leave town, time is running out. but given all of that, there are still some folks that we found out here mostly long time residents who say that they plan to stay put. so you are not going to evacuate, do you have any concerns about staying? >> it isn't the wind damage. i'm worried about what we'll come home to. don't want to go down that way. because if they have any bad damage here, we have nothing. >> reporter: is there anything that anyone can say to convince you to evacuate? >> drive me out, but i ain't getting on the interstate. i'm scared. >> reporter: meteorologists predicting that this will be a severe wind event, it will likely be a severe flooding event, but despite all of that, not only the woman that you just heard from there planning to stay put, but two people who live right here on this very street say they plan on doin

it gets past houma. it will be likely a category 1 at that point this evening, but even that with all the trees there, you'll have trees everywhere and they could have two, three weeks without power in some of those areas, well, well away from landfall. as far as the extreme destruction, almost like a tornado went through, will be down to houma and will arrive four to five hours from now. >> being , bill karins on the job for which we're grateful. thank you for that. let's go from there now to morgan, southwest of new orleans. give me a sense of how things are there. >> reporter: to hear bill say the eye may not arrive for another three or four hours, the winds significantly stronger, the gusts feel like they're tropical storm status and we know it's only going to get stronger in the hours ahead. right now a mandatory evacuation that went into effect about 48 hours ago. i spoke to the fire chief. he tells me he believes about 60% of the people got out of town, but that still leaves an awful lot of folks

morgan chesky has been in houma. they were thinking, we were thinking the eye was going to go right over him. unfortunately for them, they were stuck in the western eyewall. the storm got to them, they got into the eye. it stalled and heads northwards. and they have been stalled in the eyewall for a couple hours now. that's relentless pounding of the wind from the same direction, which for them is out of the north. you can see him getting in front of the shot there. i'm not sure if the trees behind him -- they used to have leaves on them. you get a good idea of what they're dealing with. it's brutal when a powerful storm slows down over the same area and just sits there, just the effects of the water, the trees, it just magnifies. >> i'm grateful to be your colleague every day, but especially today. you're staying with me. more team coverage after this break. or displays. shopping malls can be a big trigger for young homeowners turning into their parents. you ever think about the storage operation a place like this m

i haven't personally made it to houma or grand isle. i'm not sure of the way in from where i am now i spent my morning and afternoon in la place, which took a very hard hit last night. >> a lot of people were stuck in laplace, right >> yes, sir. there was tons several hundred. i received probably around 50 calls with addresses last night, four people that were stuck and water was pushing them on to the second floor. >> one thing i've seen over the years, covering storms in louisiana, people don't get crazy and all bent out of shape over it. was that the case in this, or was this more severe and it really rattled them? >> i think this one rattled a lot of people. we've become pretty accustomed to riding out some of these storms i know people who were there for katrina and this one as well the wind was so much more and it really rattled a lot of people. >> usually the eye of the storm goes over land and it collapses, and the winds go down to, you know, tropical storm within an hour or two hours. it was over the bayou for a long time and t

and in houma, category 3 winds continue to pummel the area.own, and this is not over yet. the storm has slowed down. it's only moving to the northwest at 10 miles per hour. this increases the flooding potential as well as the length the winds will last inland. louisiana governor john bel edwards warned people to evacuate, but some decided to hunker down and ride it out, and that includes holly beason in houma. holly, you're joining us now. how are you feeling? >> hi, pam. i tell you, i am absolutely terrified, and i have -- i have lived in,through blizzards, earthquakes in l.a., a hurricane once on a cruise, but i have never dealt with something like this. and i live alone, and i've just had a -- [ inaudible ] -- lifted up in the air because we have so many floods. and, you know, i was going to talk to my neighbor. they're usually the ones that tell me are we going to evacuate or are we not during all these storms, the 11 years that i've lived here. you know, he was saying to me, no, i think you're going to be okay. you've got a sturdy house.

on the east side of houma. then the storm will be heading up towards baton rouge and finally into mississippi by the time day break comes monday morning. what does all of this mean? the number one thing -- here is another, this is going to make your eyes hurt, but it is our spaghetti plots. the red line has been trending also towards new orleans. as i said, that's more meteorological, that gets very complicated. as far as the surge goes, 10 to 15 feet, that's what kills people in these hurricanes. that's the concern. that's where they're telling everyone to get out from southern louisiana up towards morgan city and towards houma and even lake pontchartrain. and then on the east side of norms, the area in red, could get up to an 11-foot surge. on top of all of this mess, 1 to 2 feet of rain, and, of course, with a hurricane this strong you are going to get extreme winds. we are thinking right now some of the strongest winds will be morgan city and houma. these are estimated gusts. i think they actually will be h

we are in houma not far from where the starm made land fall. it is getting serious where you are, jason. what can you tell us? >> reporter: yes. the conditions, we've seen them getting progressively worse with each passing hour as we've been standing out here. it's the severe wind. it's the severe rain that's been coming down steadily. and we're not even really in the thick of it yet. as bad as some of the conditions are now, if you look, i don't know how much of this reads on camera as you see the wind gusts come through here. but the eye wall still two hours away from where we are at this point, jim. and houma at this point is still in the direct path of the eye wall of hurricane ida. so what we're being told is conditions here are just going to be steadily getting worse over the next few hours. so what we're going to be doing is bringing you updates, obviously, as we're out here. i've reached out to emergency officials to gauge what they've been seeing so far. we were able to do a short tour in the immediate area, and have already seen power

he's in houma, louisiana, not far from where the storm made landfall. what are you experiencing, jason? >> reporter: well, pamela, just within the past hour, we've seen emergency crews for the first time make their way through the parking lot beside me. so that's some indication that perhaps, you know, this storm -- the eye of the storm is finally making its way far enough away from the center of houma where some of the emergency crews can finally make their way out. what we've been experiencing for the past several hours now are severe winds topping 100 miles per hour that have been just barreling down on houma relentlessly. around me you can see some of these downed trees. at the beginning when we were doing live reporting out here, pamela, i initially stood over there. then the trees started coming down in that direction. we started seeing debris coming from -- we can't even figure out coming from where, so we had to move from that particular position to where i'm standing now. so we've seen downed trees throughout the area. visibility still very dif

morgan chesky, thank you there in houma. let's go now east, about 150 miles. shaq, you're there in gulfport, mississippi. storm surging was one of the concerns there. a curfew has been issued as well. we saw you earlier showing some of the structural damage. a lot happening on the east side of the storm. >> that's exactly right. remember, we are well over 100 miles from where the storm actually made landfall. and you see me behind this column right here. i'm going to step over a little bit just so you can see the impact of this, because once i break from that impact of the storm, you'll see the winddying or from the protection of the column, you'll see the wind against my clothes and how aggressive the wind is. gusts are expected to reach about 60 miles per hour. and you have the wind, you have the rain. and those are not even the main concerns. you also have concerns about storm surge. you have concerns about river flooding. there's tornadoes threats. there was a tornado warning in the past hour. there are many concerns. that's why you have local officials te

houma, about 60 miles southwest of where we are saw some of the worst of it. our morgan chesky there tonight. >> reporter: tonight this is houma, a hurricane beaten, wind-battered shell of a city, one of the first to suffer a direct hit from ida. >> this is the worst i've ever been through. >> i'll never stay home again i'll tell you that i'll definitely going to evacuate. i'm never going chance this again. >> reporter: the storm pummelling the area with gusts topping 140 miles per hour, ripping off roofs in seconds. and leaving homes shredded for dale crocker, a total loss he spent today with his service dogs, salvaging whatever he could, recalling the moment ida turned his home inside out. >> i can't hear, but i heard that >> reporter: in nearby shelter, dozens try to figure out what comes next >> they're going to push me homeless, me and my family. seven people in the household. >> reporter: jerome and his dog rocky rescued by police when storm surge started rushing into their home >> the water was right here on me. >> reporter: they were lucky because help

we saw it here just south of houma.o the west of new orleans and now moving up into parts of mississippi. tornado watches still in effect. tornadoes are still possible today. there goes the storm off the east coast by thursday into friday. a lot of rainfall. maybe 4 to 6 inches of rain still coming down. but this is a graphic that is on my twitter feed. i hope you go there and read it if you really want to learn something about the wind damage. a category 1 we're going to call it one times plult plier, category 1 75 miles per hour wind. category 3, 30 times more powerful and potential for damage than a category 1. you get down to ida, ida was 256 times more potential damage than a category 1 75 miles per hour storm. that's what people are waking up to today. when we get pictures, we're not going to like them. >> yeah. look, it's not just a 4, it's a strong 4 that it made landfall at. i do wonder, i know you're waiting for the pictures, we really don't have a grasp on what this storm has brought at this point? >> we real

let's bring in morgan in houma, louisiana. just about an hour's drive from new orleans. that was right smack dab in the path of the storm. morgan, what do you have? >> reporter: we are south of where that hospital had to save those patients by hand. we won't see the true damage until the sun comes up. as we pull out, this is one building on one block in one community left crippled by ida. what is frustrating is that first responders don't know how bad it is either. every direction they go to, they are getting flat tires. we checked with the police department as we made our way down with power lines blocking the streets, they had to leave many homes that either took on water or had roofs ripped right off. this is the extent of the damage from wind gusts, upwards of 140 miles an hour. part of the problem in houma and surrounding is that this was the place part of the eye wall got stuck from ida and unleashed those devastating winds for hours at a time. that is why as bad as it is right now, will only get worse. i spoke to a terrabonne deputy and said, is this as bad as gut

there are low-lying areas here in houma, also in morgan city just down the road. that's only seven feet above sea levels, so expect some storm surge issues there, about you the fires are saying their chain saws are out and as soon as it gets safe enough for them to go into the neighborhoods and start checking on people, we plan on cutting treats or of poles and checking power lines. >> there's wind whipping debris. we want to make sure you and your crew are safe, but we want to highlight something, you said if 40% have stayed, that means by 44,000 people are riding out the storm in that parish alone. are you seeing any, god forbid, cars on the road? any activity? >> the only people on the roads right now look tore storm chaser at this point. that's an absolutely good thing to here. nobody has any business being out in this business right now. it's only getting worse, lindsey. as frustrating as it's been to see the damage that ida has already brought here, it's what's to come that certainly gives you pause. >> morgan chesky, please stay safe. >>> we have to bring i

. >>> we'll bring in derek van dam live in hard-hit houma, louisiana. it was touch and go for awhile for you there. what is it looking like right now at this hour? >> reporter: it was a nightmare that, really, unfolded in front of our eyes here. for the residents that decided to actually ride out the storm here in terrabonne parish, incredible. it was like, as an analogy, like taking a direct hit from an ef-4 tornado. that was 50 miles wide that moved over the same location for several hours. it was relentless. it was daunting. it was almost like driving in white knuckle traffic. that high anxiety, high pressure situation. it wears you down. our producers on the third floor of our team actually felt the room in this reinforced concrete building sway in the wind. that's how incredible it actually was. listen, the sounds we've had here. familiar to me who has chased many hurricanes. we have generators in the distance. obviously, no power. just like nadya in new orleans. that's going to continue for days, if not weeks. there are helicopters that have flown

we then drove to houma. on the way, so much destruction. that pair of helicopters flying low, looking for survivors. ida tearing across grand isle like a buzz saw. new pictures showing the barrier island under water. officials still have not been able to reach many of the dozens of people who stayed behind there in defiance of mandatory evacuation orders. just over 30 miles from there, the coast guard surveying the damage near galliano for the first time. homes shredded, roads flooded. this chopper flying a patient to a hospital. at least one levee was overtopped south of the city. and reports of people trapped in their attics in jefferson parrish. >> this is an area, if you want to think of it like swamp land, there's alligators out there. >> reporter: our ginger zee in jefferson parrish, just south of new orleans. >> the town of lafitte has one way in and one way out and that one way is covered by water. their levees were overtopped during the stop. >> reporter: rescuers doing everything they can to reach survivors. >> from house to house

in houma, louisiana, this roof ripped off. slamming into utility poles, taking it down. tonight, nearly a half million customers without power in that state, and the number is expected to grow. trees uprooted, buildings ripped apart. and in gulfport, mississippi, the hurricane's effects far and wide. very strong winds and rain there. and the hospitals in new orleans unable to evacuate patients, because of the covid surge. they're sheltering in place. and the hurricane hunters flying inside the eye of the storm. the clearly defined walls of the storm 17 miles across. and look at this satellite image of the swirling eye as it was approaching land today. ida, at this hour, still a dangerous category 4 hurricane. winds 130 miles per hour. we'll have the newest track, where does this head next? this will be felt across several states as it moves north. ginger zee is standing by with where this is, and where it will head. but first, victor oquendo is live in new orleans with the latest. victor? >> reporter: david, we've been feeling these hurricane force winds for hours. and t

and from the city of houma, we shift about an hour north east to new orleans, omar villafranca has theatest on the dire situation there, good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening, we're seeing pockets of intense destruction like this collapsed building behind me. but we're also starting to see people walking around, looking for food, water and answers on when the power will be back on. >> the whole thing, oh my god, the whole thing just caved. >> reporter: ida barreled into the big easy sunday lashing the city for hours with hurricane force winds. the storm tore off roofs and toppled awnings in the historic french quarter. violent wind gusts, some close to 100 miles per hour damaged buildings downtown. one of the reasons the city is dark, violent winds toppled this giant transmission tower sending lines into the mississippi river. hurricane ida tore down this two story jazz mural but also destroyed a piece of jazz history. this pile of rubble is where a young louie armstrong used to play, mayor cantrel urged residents who road out the storm to stay home as first responders assess t

we have got a team of correspondents all over the region beginning with cbs' mireya villarreal in houma, louisiana, good evening. >> reporter: hundreds of homes and businesses look just like this, completely destroyed in thisarea. this bowling alley where i am standing has been here for more than 50 years but now look at it. the roof is gone, the back wall is gone, there is nothing left inside and yet this place has survived several hurricanes. the owner telling me though ida was more powerful than anything she has ever seen before and that is because she road out katrina right inside here. the terrifying sounds of ida. >> oh my god. >> reporter: the powerful storm ripped this building to shred in rockport, louisiana and lifted the entire roof off this building slamming it into a power line. >> i think there is somebody in there. >> heavy rain caused wide spread flooding, residents in braithwait were told to get out after the levee was breached. wendy palmer tried to ride out the storm with her husband. >> you know, i really believe that if that wouldn't have come off, my house would be

. >> jason carroll has more tonight from houma, louisiana. >> reporter: throughout much of downtown houmathe damage from hurricane ida in nearly every direction. this was once a childhood home of harrison. his great grandmother lived here, now it's all gone. >> my whole childhood is just gone now. all the memories left in one storm. >> reporter: across the street the barbershop destroyed, the home next door is still standing barely. part of the roof is damaged, his carport gone. he waited out the storm with his wife at home and at one moment the wind was so bad they thought they would not survive. >> we was scared, you know. me and my old lady pried and went on our knees and asked the lord to take care of this house and protect us, you know what i mean? give us the opportunity to breathe. >> reporter: you got down on your knees and prayed? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: what do you think, next time a category 4 comes, will you evacuate? >> i'll get out of here. >> reporter: winding 100 miles an hour swirled around houma as idea crawled around. portions of terrebonne airport destroyed and count

houma and the surrounding area, as you know, under a mandatory evacuation. spoke to the sherveg. he predicts anywhere between 60 and 80% of the residents who live here have heeded that evacuation order but certainly not everyone, and you've heard -- we've heard from the governor who is really urging people to get out. he said time is simply running out. >> when you go to bed tonight, you need to be prepared to ride out the storm and the storm is going to be very severe. storm surge is going to be up to 15 feet, which is going to test all our protection systems down along the coast, which is why we're evacuating people from those coastal areas, the ones that you were just referring to, is the ones that will billion uninhabitable for some period of time to come. >> you may have seen that man waving in the shop behind me. he lives in that house right there. he plans to stay. if you look across the street there in the brick building on the second floor, a man by the name of jason -- the other jason came down to say hello. he plans to stay as well. of course, this is not emergency off

houma. grand aisle, port fourchon, incredible devastation associated with this. it is not just the center. nits the band. over in new orleans, the airport is reporting 707 to 80--mile-per-hour wind gusts. it is not just in the center. it is a large area of dangerous wind. and there is a danger of flooding as well. >> richard? >> richard lui. as you are watching the data, what has surprised you so far? in what chapter are we early on of course of hurricane ida at this hour? >> we look at the situation, how overnight just that rapid intensefication. this storm continuing to want to be so strong. think about landfall just hours ago. even after landfall the storms looks as healthy as it has at any time in the last day or so. we still have an eye over land. you look at the incredible damage that's going to occur with 130-mile-an-hour winds. with time, even with time, places inland. we are not done yet. donaldsonville, baton rouge. overnight -- dangerous overnight when you have hurricane force winds. they are going the see those even in baton rouge. that's going to cau

let's go to jason in houma. look, the warning from state officials is if you're going to get out you've got to get out in the next three, four hours. >> right. absolutely, poppy, because time is running out. if you look at where we are right now here in homa, houma expected to be ground zero of this hurricane, and basically right now it's pretty much of a ghost town. we've seen a number of boarded-up buildings, some buildings with sandbags in front of their doors and a that's exactly what emergency. they are under evacuation. some 35,000 residents live in houma. they are telling residents it is for your own safety to get out. the sheriff predicts that anywhere between 60 and he says as high as 80% of the people who live in how many ear and the surrounding area have more loon atlanticly evacuated. 80% would be a high number but not all the people we found said they want to leave. so you're not going to evacuate. do you have any concerns about staying? >> tornadoes and wind damage. i'm worried about what we're goi

i'm cnn meteorologist, derek van dam from houma, louisiana.o you. >> derek van dam in the middle of it all in east baton rouge parish. search and rescue crews are out looking for residents who may need help now. officials asking them to stay in place so those crews can clear away safety hazards, including power lines in the water. joining me now is the mayor of baton rouge, sharon weston broom. we know you have a lot on your plate this morning. i wonder if you and the search and rescue teams have a handle now on how many residents are in need of help. >> actually, we believe baton rouge was largely spared and we don't see a large number of folks involved in search and rescue, but we are assessing the situation this morning search and rescue teams are out as well as our other departments that are assessing all the damage. the truth is that we are really sending a lot of our resources, including our search and rescue teams out to our neighbors in the surrounding parishes, recognizing that they received more devastation than our parish did. >> go

portions of the houma, terrabonne airport destroyed. someone else's roof had landed on his car crushing it. thankfully it missed most of his home. >> i heard a big thump on my house. >> reporter: it could be from this building over here or that one over there. >> we're not sure where the roof came from. >> reporter: so, jake, some out here in houma were luckier than others. some came home and found out that they had just lost their roof or part of their home. others came home to a scene like this. the man who lives in this house at one point yelling out for help. he survived the storm. he, like so many other people here, now figuring out what to do next. jake? >> all right, jason carroll in houma, louisiana, thank you so much. joining us on the phone right now is the sheriff of terrabonne parish. have you been able to reach every part of your parish to assess the damage? >> we're still working to get clear -- pretty much covered the north and south end of the parish. >> sheriff, you're breaking up a little bit. what more do you need fro

they will likely shift closer instead of morgan city to houma going throughout the afternoon. storm surge, still forecast at 10 to 15 feet, devastating, close to historic for the area. 7 to 11 feet, the mississippi coastline and southeastern louisiana, and the rainfall will be the big story all the way through monday, maybe even into tuesday. that is up to 20 inches of rain from baton rouge to new orleans down towards the coast. so you have the storm surge and then you have like 1 to 2 feet of rain. there will be water everywhere, and the peak wind gust, we're going to update that graphic with the new information when we get it in. alex, the bottom line is if your emergency manager has told you to evacuate, this isn't a storm to say, maybe i will, maybe i will do it last minute. if your emergency manager tells you to leave, you have to leave and save your life and your family's life. i have seen pictures from the airports. a lot of people are trying to get out. the question is, you know, is it too late. also, the people that can get out, you know, tend to be the ones that have

>> reporter: in houma, louisiana, tearing the roof off this building. congresswoman beryl amedee who represents houma describing the scene. >> we've felt stronger winds than i've everxpernced there was major roof damage, downed trees, mobile homes being destroyed. there was debris flying everywhere. >> reporter: the storm surge and winds so powerful, they temporarily reversed the flow of the mississippi river near new orleans. the u.s. geological survey calling it extremely uncommon. overnight more than 1 million power customers in mississippi and louisiana were without electricity. cameras capturing the moment all of new orleans went dark. pumps to keep the city from flooding have been using self-generating sources of power and one hospital in the area experiencing partial failure of its generator forcing doctors and nurses to hand bag patients on ventilators until they could be transferred to another part of the facility. on sunday ida roaring ashore as a powerful category 4 storm, 16 years to the day after hurricane katrina. the storm now a major tes

now to the hard-hit area of houma, louisiana where there was widespread damage earlier. i spoke with state representative beryl amedee about the situation in her community. >> it's pitch black because we have no electricity and the sun went down. but i can tell you what i have seen and what i expect to see when the sun comes up. the winds are still blowing here. i believe they are sometimes gusting at hurricane force still. we felt stronger winds today than i've ever experienced. i think we're going to have to reconsider what we calculated this storm at. if it did not come in at a category 5 i'd be surprised. there was major roof damage, downed trees, mobile homes being destroyed. there was debris flying everywhere. there are downed trees, power lines. it will probably be weeks before we get power restored. we're having problems with water pressure. little to no water pressure. so we're going to have to have some major utilities work that has to be done before businesses can reopen and things can get back to normal here. my greatest concern would be the mental health of

ida slammed southern louisiana, flooding entire cities like houma.ws rushed to save people trapped in their homes. powerful winds knocked down power lines, leaving more than 1 million customers dark in louisiana and mississippi. it could be weeks before the power grid is fixed. michael george is in bridge city, just outside of new orleans, with more on the devastation. michael, good morning. >> reporter: anne-marie, good morning. and if you're wondering why officials say it will take weeks to fully restore power, the answer is right behind me. this three-story transmission tower was torn down by ida. and the catastrophic failure of the power grid is just one of many problems that people in louisiana are dealing with. >>> a massive emergency response is now underway after hurricane ida blasted the gulf coast. >> things are just falling apart. i haven't got a dry spot in the house. >> reporter: the storm delivered its hardest hit to louisiana after making landfall there on sunday. these homes in houma in the southern part of the state among those that

reporting in houma. i'm anna mcallister. back to you. >> you could be part of testing out.an take part and testing make this the summer you taught them what it means to serve. the summer of hauling happiness by the ton. and bringing home hardware by the handful. where traditions were passed down on the tailgate. and the only thing more powerful than the feeling was the truck that took you to it. make this the summer of ram. right now, get 0% apr financing, or well-qualified returning lessees can lease the 2021 ram 1500 for $309 a month. ♪ ♪ >> some san francisco residents will have a new way to roll around the city. waymo is launching writer testing for its self-driving cars right now. people can sign up to become a trusted tester as they're calling it in the one at kron and harry rode around in one of those self-driving cars and filed this report. >> please make sure your seat belt possible. >> safety is the number one priority for we know that this is a an tool. >> and technology that could make roads safer waymo's hoping san francisco will be the second market where they

i want to bring in our meteorologist derek van dam in houma, louisiana. ida expected to make landfall right around where you are. give us a little sense of what you're experiencing already and it's still an hour or two or three away. >> reporter: wolf, that's right. this is the stuff of nightmares. it's unfolding right before us. we are staring down the eye of a monster not 50 miles away from where i'm standing in houma, louisiana. this is the time to shelter in place. if you had friends that didn't evacuate, if you're here in this location and didn't evacuate, it's time to get inside your home, away from windows, in that secure location that you've thought about and have your hurricane preparedness ready. extreme wind warnings have been designated for this area all the way to the gulf of mexico. that is reserved from the national weather service for only the most rarest of events, this being one of them. 115-mile-per-hour sustained winds at a minimum. that is life-threatening. that is potentially catastrophic to this area. that's why they've issued that

the town of houma has been especially hard hit. raging wind causing extensive damage.ll is there for us. jason, what are you seeing? >> reporter: first, the best way to describe it is no matter where you look in this section of houma, there seems to be a form of destruction. behind me that house just a few moments ago, i had an opportunity to speak to the man who grew up in that house. that was a house yesterday before ida took her toll on this community. he says he grew up here. it's been in his family since his great grandmother lived there. they came out there today to salvage what they could. it was heart wrenching. he used to get his haircut at the bar bar shop across the street. the roof is gone. the barbershop nearly destroyed. right next to that, the house still standing. i spoke to the man who lives there. he road out the storm. he did not want to evacuate. he said he had ridden out storms in the past and thought he could ride out this one. part of his roof is gone. the carport is gone. he said at one point it got so bad yesterday he got down on his knees and

and the folks in baton rouge were certainly not dealing with the conditions that people here in houmaike a whiteout because of the wind and the rain going through here. the only cars i saw were first responders or stormchasers. even the fire department telling me, ched to hunker down for several hours before they felt it was safe enough to get back out and check on people who may be in harm's way. >> we've asked a number of officials when they think this will ease up. some have said midnight tonight. we'll be thinking of you. there's more on hurricane ida right after this. n hurricane id right after this we did it again. verizon has been named america's most reliable network by rootmetrics. and our customers rated us #1 for network quality in america according to j.d. power. number one in reliability, 16 times in a row. most awarded for network quality, 27 times in a row. proving once again that nobody builds networks like verizon. that's why we're building 5g right, that's why there's only one best network. paul loves food. but his diabetes made food a mystery. everything felt like a

houma was hit particularly hard. we know once we start to navigate the city streets across this area we believe we will see major damage throughout houma. back to you, john. >> derek van dam, thank you very much, as always. good luck today. >>> joining us now, atlanta governor of louisiana, billy nungesser. thank you for joining us. we know you're in baton rouge right now. what are things looking like where you are? >> we've gotten through the worst of it here. the wind has died down. where the levees have seemed to f have failed, we're working to get people as the water is rushing up highway 23, another area heavily impacted. as the sun comes up we'll see widespread destruction from the winds and the water. >> at this point, is it unknown? do you have a sense of what the damage may be, of what the human toll may be? we know that st. john the baptist parish has been inundated with 911 calls for rescues because of flooding and yet we know rescuers haven't been able to go to the folks who need help. >> we've gotten cal

of houma in laplace john sullivan's trailer lifted from its foundation his wing gauge somewhere in the river. he now suspects registered 125 miles an hour before it flew off a lot worse than i thought but john says he's the lucky one. his neighbor's home is flipp. so my otherouuiana. you know, i really am i've been down here 15 years and and i'm done. i'm tired of trying to work for something and you know in the weather comes along and tears it up and in new orleans spared the worst of the wind andb home to s armstrong shows collapsed can't be rebuilt. but new orleans power grid must be new orleans are about to spend their second night. market could be three weeks or more before it's back on and yet they know. it is better than it could have been here don't have the flood waters pouring it so we can deal with the wind damage. it's really also dealing with the very catastrophic power situation that we're going to be facing. it is such a because the transmission lines have failed including a massive tower that fell into the mississippi river. there's no estimate when it could be back on

and that has brought scenes like this in the city of houma. >> the extraordinary power of those high winds, meanwhile the entire city of new orleans is in the dark, without power tonight. except for those with generators. the power company says ida caused quote, catastrophic transmission damage. across louisiana more than 930,000 people have lost power. we have also had our first confirmed death caused by this hurricane a 60 year old man was killed when a tree fell on his home, just south of baton rouge. of course this catastrophic storm is taking place during the pandemic in a state that has one of the highest covid hospitalization rates in the country right now. louisiana's hospitals are full. and evacuation was not an option because all the hospitals across the entire region are also full with covid patients. so those patients and staff have been hunkering down in hospitals as this hurricane blows through. a nurse capturing this moment, when a piece of roof blew off a hospital in the new orleans area. that is one of two hospitals in that region that are reportedly climbing to tran

. >>> our coverage begins with cnn derek van dam live in houma, louisiana. i know you were getting whipped around earlier. what does it look like now? >> reporter: yeah. we were in the bulls eye of the storm. it was a nightmare snarcenario t unfolded here before our eyes. it was relentless. the ending fury of category 4 hurricane winds felt right where i'm located -- i just -- it's so hard to describe exactly what happened. i'm going to do my best to share it with you. it was white knuckle, anxious moments for my team, the people on the ground here, and certainly for the individuals who tried to ride out the storm in the area. it was like taking, for example, an analogy. it was like taking a direct hit from an ef 3 tornado. winds over 140 miles per hour. over a large space of time. and over a large distance, as well. the storm, we anticipated the eye to go over this area. so we thought we would get some respite. that did not happen. the storm pivoted and pounded us with the relentless wipd for hours. there have been helicopters flying around. familiar sounds