Last updated on September 27, 2021
With over one million homes left without power in Louisiana and Mississippi alone, many officials express that the damages from Hurricane Ida could be the worst some have seen in years. It could even be worse than Hurricane Katrina, which took more than 1,800 lives and caused over $100 billion in damages.
Hurricane Ida started as a Category 1 hurricane as it moved past Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, August 28th, 2021. During its travel in the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane intensified in wind speed and power, where it then became a Category 2 hurricane, as it plummeted towards the Louisiana area- the same place Hurricane Katrina hit sixteen years ago.
Louisiana officials were especially worried about the intense speed of the hurricane, as they did not know if the general public would be able to get out of the state in time. They could not release a mandatory evacuation message because of the lack of time they had before the hurricane would hit.
On Sunday, August 29th, Ida landed in full force as a Category 4 hurricane, with heavy rains and intense wind speeds. The following day, it settled into a tropical depression that increased flooding and even set off a few small tornadoes in the area.
So far, there have been four lives taken from the hurricane, but many more casualties and injuries are expected due to the multiple downed power lines, intense flooding (with debris), severe power outages, and more.
People are trapped, unable to escape their flooded and destroyed homes due to shut down gas stations and roads flooded with water levels as high as 4 ft.
What causes a larger issue is how the catastrophe of the hurricane and Covid-19 will mix. For the hundreds of people battling the virus in hospitals, the lack of supplies and the long-lasting power outage across states is bound to cause harm.
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