Gov. John Bel Edwards has requested a pre-landfall Federal Declaration of Emergency in a letter to President Joe Biden in advance of Hurricane Ida, which is forecast to make landfall in Louisiana  late Sunday evening or Monday morning.

On Thursday, Edwards declared a state of emergency for Ida, allowing the state to begin its preparations and to assist local governments as they respond. Already 12 parishes have declared states of emergency and more are anticipated to do so.

“Unfortunately, Louisiana is forecast to get a direct, strong hit from  Ida, which could make landfall as a major hurricane, a category 3, which is compounded by our current fourth surge of COVID-19. This is an incredibly challenging time for our state,”  Edwards said. “The time for the people of Louisiana to prepare for this strong storm is now, as portions of our state will begin seeing impacts of this storm early Sunday morning, or even late Saturday evening. The next 24 hours are incredibly critical for the state, and a statewide federal emergency declaration will go a long way in helping us respond to Ida.”