Hurricane Ida and its Toll on America

Hurricane+Ida+and+its+Toll+on+America

Hannah Kim '22, Opinion Section Editor

On 29 August 2021, Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane that originated from the Caribbean Sea, raided Louisiana with winds blowing at 150 mph, quickly escalating to 157 mph. Its winds brought darkness to both Mississippi and Louisiana as it knocked out the electricity to more than 1 million homes. Even two weeks later, during the burning heat, some still do not have access to electricity, which becomes dangerous for the vulnerable people in the area who are without air-conditioning in the overwhelming heat and humidity. As the life-threatening storm traveled along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, it has taken the lives of at least 78 people—at least 28 in Louisiana alone, another 50 in six other states. 

Dartanian Stovall, a New Orleans resident, looks at his collapsed house in devastation.  Courtesy of Michael Democker, photographer

 

The aftermath of Hurricane Ida is not one that could easily be overlooked. In New Orleans, its mayor LaToya Cantrell set a curfew for the entire city, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.. In New York City, extreme rain led to times of “unprecedented” levels of flash floods, says Joel Myers, founder of local and international weather forecast AccuWeather. Myers points out that “It is rare for a hurricane from the Gulf of Mexico to produce this much damage this far north,” referring to its impacts in some New England states. Observing the damages done, professionals expect the repairs of the hurricane to be costly. AccuWeather currently predicts the net storm damage to be roughly $95 billion, negatively affecting the American economy in its third and fourth quarter. 

 

The $95 billion encompassess the physical damage the hurricane had on houses, cars, buildings, as well as the inability for residents to attend to work, the stop in travel and tourism, and the cost of rehabilitating the regions. However, some other forecasters provided lower numbers. CoreLogic, only focusing on the damage from the winds, surge, and inland flooding to residential and commercial land, estimates that the cost of impact in three main states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) will be around $27 billion to $40 billion.