Hurricane Ida first made landfall in Louisiana last Sunday, however the storm wandered north up to New York and led to massive floods, which already cost the lives of at least 43 people in the Northeast. The storm is another indication to the devastation of the climate change.
The devastation by hurricane Ida was expressed by photos and videos going around the internet and news-headers. Alone in New Jersey, 23 people died due to the storm brought by the Hurricane. Approximately one million residents were left with no power in Louisiana. Energy companies warned residents that it could weeks to restore power in some parts of the state. One town in particular, Jean Lafitte, suffered from the flooding by Ida with estimated 90% of the homes left with serious damage. Emergency workers in boats saved people from the floods, as they searched for safety on the roofs of houses and cars. Many of the victims died in basement apartments, which fell first victim to the floods and had worse safety precautions than other building apartments.
Hurricane Ida is the second worst hurricane in the state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina of 2005 that caused the deaths of over 1,800 people. The governor of Louisiana told residents to not return until the infrastructure has improved. So far, the tropical storm Ida has cost $50 billion dollar damage and the sum is going to increase. President Biden warned that a ‘’climate crisis is here’’ and that ‘’the destruction is everywhere’’.
Heavy rainfall is a significance of global warming. Warm air can capture more moisture, making downpours more frequent. Storm Ida has left several records of precipitation levels.
Especially the northern regions suffered under storm Ida.
Why did a lot of people die in New York? New York is not used to such devastating floods and there have been no proper evacuation orders in the state. Residents of the southern states like Louisiana have better evacuation orders, since they grew used to extreme weather events like hurricanes.
It will take some time until the damage has been restored and it could take some several more days until the floods withdraw from the states.
