Damage from Hurricane Ida is still being assessed. Ida’s remnants swept from the Gulf Coast into the northeast, leaving behind a climbing death toll of 63, while over one million customers reported power outages.
The Category 4 storm made landfall on Aug. 29, after rapidly intensifying over three days. The hurricane’s wind speeds reached 150 mph. Ida is now tied for the strongest landfall on record with 2020’s Hurricane Laura and the Last Island hurricane of 1856.
The storm burst through many cities’ levee protection, effectively submerging ports of cities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and western Florida. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded peak water levels of seven feet, a result of storm surges bolstered by a reported 10 to 14 inches of rainfall across the region. Post-storm surveys are expected to catalogue even higher water levels.
Evacuation and relief efforts were impeded by an estimated 150 road closures, blocked by fallen trees and powerlines. At least 300 homes flooded, while an unspecified number of buildings were leveled by winds. These conditions caused massive power outages across the state, many of which are expected to take weeks to repair.
“There’s not an even rate of restoration going on, and that’s always going to be the case,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told CNN Saturday. “I’m always happy to see people getting powered up, and some people are going to be quite a while.”
Although Ida decreased in intensity since making landfall, its remnants have been felt across the Tennessee Valley and the Northeast, where it has mixed with a stationary front resulting in massive flooding. This flooding has resulted in at least 50 additional deaths across a number of states and regions, including 17 across New York and 27 across New Jersey. Ida is set to be followed closely by Hurricane Larry as the hurricane season intensifies. “Little change in strength is forecast during the next few days, although fluctuations in intensity will be possible,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Larry is expected to remain a major hurricane through the middle of this week.”