Ida strengthened into a hurricane Friday afternoon as Gulf Coast states prepared for a direct hit from the storm, which forecasters warn could rapidly intensify into one of the strongest storms of the Atlantic hurricane season so far.

New Orleans issued its first evacuations for coastal communities outside the city’s levee system that protects from flooding. The city’s mayor, LaToya Cantrell, ordered those in coastal communities bordering both Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain — two large bodies of water that connect to the Gulf of Mexico — to leave immediately. Other coastal communities were placed under a voluntary evacuation order. “Now is the time,” Cantrell said.

The incoming storm could provide a test for the city’s new levee system , which was reconstructed after Hurricane Katrina and its failure in the 2005 storm that helped flood 80% of the city with areas under 6 to 20 feet of water.

Ida is forecast to hit the area Sunday — 16 years to the day that Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi as a catastrophic Category 3 storm. Nearly 2,000 people died during Katrina and damage was reportedly $125 billion, according to NOAA.

New Hurricane and storm surge watches were issued Friday morning for several Gulf Coast states. Forecasters say Ida could slam into Louisiana as a “devastating” Category 3 hurricane with winds up to 120 mph. “The forecast track has it headed straight towards New Orleans. Not good,” said Jim Kossin, a climate and hurricane scientist with the Climate Service.

The storm is shaping up to be “probably be the strongest storm of the season thus far,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said Thursday.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Thursday evening due to the potential impacts from Ida.

“Unfortunately, all of Louisiana’s coastline is currently in the forecast cone for Tropical Storm Ida, which is strengthening and could come ashore in Louisiana as a major hurricane as Gulf conditions are conducive for rapid intensification,” Edwards said. “Now is the time for people to finalize their emergency game plan, which should take into account the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Small towns on the Gulf of Mexico coast have already started telling residents to flee and New Orleans is giving away free sandbags so residents can bolster their homes, Bloomberg News said.

When the system reaches the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday, the Hurricane Center predicts it will be “at or near major hurricane intensity.”

The Hurricane Center defines “major hurricanes” as Category 3 or higher. Category 3 storms have winds of 111-129 mph and “devastating damage will occur” with storms of that strength.