Last week, Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 4 storm, knocking out power to more than 1 million Louisiana homes and businesses.
Ida lashed in with winds of 150 miles per hour and gusts up to 172 mph with the National Hurricane Center issuing a flash flood warning across southeastern Louisiana. The storm intensified rapidly to power for even forecasters to keep track of. The record-breaking rainfall flooded businesses, public transportation lines, and 1,200 residences, resulting in more than $50 million in losses.
The hurricane's maximum sustained winds decreased to 105 mph when it moved into New Orleans, making it a Category 1 hurricane, eventually becoming a tropical storm. Next, Hurricane Ida's aftermath stormed into the Northeast, causing catastrophic flooding across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
Ida is said to be one of the worst extreme weather condition to hit US in 2021 while still dealing with heat waves and wildfires. The size and unsettling timing of Hurricane Ida is already being compared to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that killed at least 1,800 people.
There are millions of people living in the US Gulf Coast, which is especially vulnerable to tropical storms. The approaching hurricane caused the suspension of emergency medical services in New Orleans and across the state, which is already dealing with a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections that has put a burden on the healthcare system. Evacuation was not an option for the estimated 2,450 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across the state, many of whom were in intensive care units.
On Wednesday night, the New York City metropolitan region was hit by an unexpected devastation when Hurricane Ida's remnants flooded subways, highways, and houses. In New York and New Jersey, at least 45 people were killed, with at least total of 52 people across the Northeast. The number of confirmed storm-related deaths in Louisiana rose to 13.
A tornado ripped the roofs off buildings and toppled several massive silos at the state's largest dairy farm in New Jersey. After social media images showed water flowing into underground stations and tunnels in New York, authorities reported on Thursday that 835 people had to be rescued from stranded subway trains. Nearly 500 vehicles were abandoned in New York, as reported by Associated Press.
The majority of those killed in a record-breaking storm in New York City this week resided in basement apartments. Many basement apartments lack the necessary safety requirements, such as a window or door that can be opened to the outside and used in to evacuate the space.
On Saturday, the United States Coast Guard said there was a large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill is considered to be coming from off shore drilling lease about two miles south of Port Fourchon, however the oil slick didn't reach Louisiana coast lines. Clean Gulf Associates, a nonprofit cooperative, responded to the scene on Wednesday, placing a containment zone.
Recovery efforts are being made, hundreds of people had been evacuated from eight senior housing facilities where officials found circumstances unsafe for living by the end of Saturday. President Biden has approved federal aid as major disaster declaration for affected areas of New York and New Jersey.
In a report president Biden addressed this catastrophic disaster as:
"yet another reminder that these extreme storms in the climate crisis are here".
Hurricane Ida is just one more example of how climate change is affecting tropical storms. With the use of fossil fuels, the atmosphere and oceans are warming. Because of this, there is now more moisture in the atmosphere, as it can evaporate more easily from the oceans into a warmer atmosphere that can receive more water vapor. And this is all contributing to intensify tropical storms.
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