ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts was among those sending her husband, Today Show meterologist Al Roker, supportive messages while he is in Louisiana covering the devastating Hurricane Ida. Roker, 67, shared a post on Instagram early Sunday to assure fans he is safe and definitely not too old to still be covering hurricanes out in the field. Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, just before noon Sunday.
Roker shared a video of himself pulling off one of his heavy boots and pouring out all the water that built up inside it from the rain. “For all those who were worried about me out on [Lake Pontchartrain] a) I volunteered to do this. Part of the job,” Roker wrote. “b) My crew and I were safe and we are back at our hotel and c) for those who think I’m too old to to be doing this, try and keep up.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
View this post on Instagram
“So happy You’re safe. And sweetie you’re the bomb. And we all know it!” Roberts, who married Roker in 1995, wrote. Many of Roker’s fans also praised him for all his hard work covering the storm. “This is one of the reasons why you are my favorite weather guy, Al! Thank you for being you,” one fan wrote. “You are a National Treasure Al! We all love you and are glad you and the crew are safe,” another wrote.
Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, the 16th anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Ida has already left New Orleans without power. More than 990,000 Louisiana households are without power Sunday night, according to PowerOutage.us. Over 31,000 Mississippi households are also without power.
Late Sunday night, the first death related to the storm was reported. At about 8:30 p.m. CT, Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Deputies received calls about a citizen possibly injured by a fallen tree in Prairieville, the sheriff’s office said. When deputies arrived at the scene, the man was found dead. “Tragically, we have our first death of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. Please shelter in place and stay safe,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards tweeted. “We will begin damage assessments and search and rescue missions as soon as it is safe in the morning. Please pray for Louisiana.”
In its 10 p.m. CT update, the National Hurricane Center continued warning of a “catastrophic” storm surge, flash flooding, and extreme winds in Southeastern Louisiana. Hurricane Ida’s maximum sustained winds are still at 105 mph and the storm is moving north-northwest at 9 mph. The hurricane is expected to move north overnight before moving “slightly faster notheastward” by Monday night into Tuesday. IT is forecast to move through Mississippi on Monday, then the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday.
