Hurricane Ida: Here's How You Can Volunteer To Help New Orleans

As Hurricane Ida continues to move through the state of Louisiana, a local volunteer corps is providing a way to help New Orleans residents.

The NOLA Ready Volunteer Corps is seeking volunteers to help with its post-storm evacuation operation once the weather has passed if necessary.

"We do not yet know if this will be necessary or how much help will be required, as this situation is very fluid and conditions continue to change," the group wrote on its website.

According to the NOLA Ready website, volunteer duties may include the following: sorting & distributing resources, line management & navigation, answering questions, supporting non-profit organizations on site, working with pets, and more.

Additionally, volunteers will be standing for the full duration of their shift, and may be needed to lift heavy objects.

Volunteers are not asked to put themselves in harm's way during the storm.

Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon Sunday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane and was moving over Galliano and Golden Meadow as of 3:45 p.m. local time.

The National Hurricane Center confirmed Ida reached wind speeds of 150 MPH, tying Hurricane Katrina on the 16th anniversary of the devastating storm, as well as Laura (2020) and the Last Island Hurricane (1856) as the most powerful storms to ever hit the state.

“We can sum it up by saying this will be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s,” said Gov. John Bel Edwards at a news conference ahead of the storm on Saturday (August 28) via the New York Times.

Ida had previously passed through the Cayman Islands as a tropical storm and elevated to a Category 1 hurricane prior to reaching Cuba on Friday (August 27), causing mass evacuations in Louisiana ahead of its expected landfall Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm to a Category 3 hurricane and later a Category 4 on Sunday as it continued to move toward the coast of Louisiana.

During a recent appearance on State of the Union with CNN's Jake Tapper, Gov. Edwards acknowledged Louisiana's significant investments in shoring up its levy system following the devastation of Katrina in 2005.

Gov. Edwards said Ida "will be the most severe test" of the levees, but expects them to hold.

"The next 24, 36 hours are just going to be very, very critical for us here in Louisiana," Edwards added.

You can sign up for a volunteer shift by clicking here.