Some who stayed to ride out the storm are having second thoughts.

U.S.|Some who stayed to thrust retired the tempest are having 2nd thoughts.

By Katy Reckdahl and Chelsea Brasted

NEW ORLEANS — As storm-force winds and rainfall reached the New Orleans country connected Sunday morning, knocking retired powerfulness successful immoderate places and making road question dangerous, it was already excessively precocious to leave. Still, immoderate radical successful the metropolis were second-guessing their determination to stay.

“I’m a small nervous,” said Le-Ann Williams, 30, arsenic she cooked meal and watched the forecast successful her New Orleans East apartment.

The roads westbound and eastbound of New Orleans were parking tons for overmuch of Saturday arsenic tens of thousands of radical tried to marque their mode retired of the storm’s predicted path. It took Robert Green Sr. 16 hours to get to Houston from New Orleans connected Saturday, ordinarily a five-hour drive.

At the aforesaid time, thousands much decided to enactment put.

Shawn Kelly meant to leave. He does not person a car, truthful helium booked a formation out. But by Saturday afternoon, helium got a notification that the formation had been canceled, and societal media posts showed hourslong lines astatine the airport.

So the signifier was set: He’d effort to thrust retired Hurricane Ida successful his parents’ location successful the Uptown country of New Orleans — the aforesaid spot wherever helium and his household tried to thrust retired Katrina successful 2005, erstwhile helium was 10 years old. Back then, the household coiled up having to beryllium rescued, a script helium hopes won’t beryllium repeated.

“I privation I could leave, due to the fact that the adjacent mates days without powerfulness are going to beryllium the worst part,” Mr. Kelly said. “I’m disquieted astir the aftermath, much truthful than the storm, due to the fact that that was the happening with Katrina; it was the aftermath. I’m ever disquieted astir what comes after.”

For New Orleans leaders, the question is what volition hap to those who stayed down if Ida’s demolition makes conditions uninhabitable.

The reply is “post-storm evacuation,” said Collin Arnold, the city’s manager of exigency preparedness. Urban search-and-rescue teams were prepared, and buses person been placed connected precocious ground, acceptable to transportation radical retired of municipality connected Monday, erstwhile the tempest blows through.

Older radical successful the metropolis often speech proudly of ne'er having evacuated, adjacent successful the look of superior storms similar Hurricane Betsy successful 1965. But Mr. Arnold said the plans for post-storm rescues were not an endorsement of that bravado, conscionable an acknowledgment that fast-moving storms similar Ida whitethorn permission small clip for evacuation.

“We’re not intentionally choosing it,” helium said. “It’s changes successful the clime that are doing it to us.”

Evacuation is simply a important portion of the catastrophe program successful a metropolis wherever 1 successful 5 households deficiency cars. But to beryllium effective, the evacuation process should statesman 72 hours earlier a tempest hits. And Ida, a sprinter of a storm, was small much than a tropical disturbance successful the Caribbean connected Thursday afternoon, erstwhile Mayor LaToya Cantrell would person had to contented the order.

“Time was not connected our side,” Ms. Cantrell said connected Friday arsenic she encouraged residents to voluntarily evacuate, but it was excessively precocious for a mandatory order.

Tens of thousands of radical weighed their options and decided to hunker down. Some were optimistic that the city’s improved levees and pumps would clasp this time. For others who had already paid their monthly bills, wealth was excessively abbreviated to question now.

“Evacuation volition ever beryllium the safest enactment for large hurricanes,” Mr. Arnold said. “Before Katrina, determination were locals who would say, ‘I don’t permission for storms.’ Katrina changed that caput set. Now clime alteration whitethorn beryllium changing it for america again.”