by Garrison Wester
Hurricane Ida formed on August 26th, 2021 and made landfall in Louisiana on August 29th.
As the hurricane traveled through the Gulf of Mexico, it strengthened into a Category Four hurricane. A Category Four hurricane is the second to strongest category, and contains wind speeds between 130mph and 156mph.
Above: Hurricane Ida as it approaches the continental United States on August 29, 2021.
In preparation for the storm, the governor of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, recommended that citizens living in high-risk areas evacuate. Residents boarded up the windows and doors of buildings so that flying debris wouldn’t break the glass and fly inside.
As the storm got closer everyone knew that there was going to be significant damage, but they didn’t know how bad it would be. They hoped and prayed that the levee wouldn’t break, and it held up throughout the whole storm.
Hurricane Ida left its mark in Louisiana, as well as in Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Not only was there heavy rainfall and severe winds in these areas, but there were also dangerous tornadoes.
The storm left a total of $95 billion in damage across the USA. Damage done included many fallen trees, destroyed homes and businesses, and horrific flooding. A total of 82 people died, and around 950,000 people were left without power.
As the storm traveled to the northeast, the storm weakened, but it still affected many areas. It caused chaos in middle Tennessee. Towns that were affected include Houston, Humphreys, Dickson, and all of Hickman County. The storm released about 14.5 inches of rain in around twelve hours. This extreme rain caused rivers to overflow and cause severe flooding.
Similar events took place in Philadelphia, where the rivers overflowed due to the extreme rainfall.
The areas that were affected by the hurricane are on their way to recovery, and they are not alone. Morgan Wallen, a country music artist, held a concert and donated all the profits to the counties in need in Tennessee. Hurricane Ida will not be forgotten soon and it will take all of us to finish the recovery process.
Above: Ida's devastation in Louisiana included rampant flooding (photo credit to AP News).
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