Ida packs wind over 150 mph .. Mid-Mo Task Force One is there

KMIZ — Missouri Task Force 1 arrived at its staging location Sunday morning ahead of Hurricane Ida’s landfall around 1 p.m.

Mo-TF1 left from Boone County Fire Protection District Friday evening for their overnight drive to Louisiana. The task force is comprised of 80 team members from all across the state. Their specialties vary from canine search and rescue to structural engineers.

The task force brought along more than 100,000 pounds of equipment, including three tractor-trailers, four gooseneck trailers, two busses, one van, and one command vehicle.

When Hurricane Ida made landfall, it was a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 150 miles per hour. It was later downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, the same category as Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in Louisiana 16 years ago to the date. Mo-TF1 also responded to Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Ida knocked out power to the entire city of New Orleans, hours after blasting ashore as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S., New Orleans government officials said.

The city’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness said on Twitter that energy company Entergy confirmed that New Orleans has no power, and that the only power in the city was coming from generators. The message included a screen shot that cited “catastrophic transmission damage” for the power failure.

The National Weather Service said Ida, which came ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, had weakened to a Category 3 storm with top sustained winds of up to 115 mph (193 kph) as its eye moved west of the city.