Hurricane Ida Brings Destruction to Louisiana, Other Parts of United States
On the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, a more powerful Category 4 Hurricane named Ida touched down in Grand Isle, Louisiana. While Katrina was a Category 3 hurricane, this made Ida the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana since 2005. What exactly happened in Louisiana and how bad is the situation?
After the storm migrated from the area, it was found that entire communities were flooded and heavily damaged from wind and brief tornadoes in many areas, including New Orleans and Grand Isle. Grand Isle was deemed “uninhabitable” because of the destruction the storm caused. If the damage wasn’t bad enough, the entire city of New Orleans was left without power, a good portion of the city still remaining without it. According to The Guardian, hundreds and thousands of people are still without power, water and other neccesities, and roughly 250,000 children are unable to return to school because of this.
According to New Orleans public radio WWNO some communities/parishes have been given a date as to when full power restoration will happen, and these are the dates given (note: according to Entergy, the asterisk indicate a ¨no later than¨ date, essentially a deadline):
– Lafourche Parish, 9/29*
– Lower Jefferson Parish, 9/29*
– Belle Chasse in Plaquemines Parish, 9/10
– The rest of Plaquemines Parish, 9/29*
– St. Charles Parish, 9/29*
– St. John Parish, 9/17
– Tangipahoa Parish, 9/17
– Terrebonne Parish, 9/29* Also according to The Guardian, it was reported that 26 have died in Louisiana, 11 of those reported from being from New Orleans proper. Ida made landfall with wind speeds that hit up to 150mph, and gusts up to nearly 200mph. President Joe Biden visited Louisiana to survey the damage, telling survivors and citizens he knows their hurting, and to visit with officials in New Orleans as making all federal resources available to those in need.
The story of Ida doesn’t end with just Louisiana, however. As the storm continued to track northeast, Ida caused major flooding from Virginia back up to Connecticut. Newark, New Jersey reported nearly 8 and a half inches of rain, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an underpass of Interstate 676 was flooded from top to bottom. Southeastern Massachusetts even took a hit, with an EF-0 tornado being reported in the town of Dennis, and waterspouts being reported near the waters of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket islands. In all, this was the 6th most expensive tropical system to ever impact the United States, causing over $50B in damages and nearly 80 lives across the country.
Louisiana needs our help and support now more than ever. If you would like to donate to help those affected, visit one of these sites:
– Redcross.org
– Text IDA to 51555 to donate to Salvation Army, whos raising money for Lift Up Louisiana
– Louisiana Bar Foundation
– Text GIVE to 52000 to donate $10 through your cell bill to the Salvation Army of NWLA (Northwest Louisiana)
– United Way of Northwest Louisiana
– And more
