Ida annihilated the entire East Coast last month through high wind speeds, heavy flash floods, and destructive landfall.  Hurricanes don’t come around often, but when they do, no one is ever really prepared. Hurricane Ida occurred this past summer and the East Coast, especially, got hit hard. When the hurricane came (August 26th-September 4th, 2021), four dozen confirmed fatalities along with loads of destruction were caused. The Category 4 Atlantic hurricane produced an abundant amount of flooding, mostly in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. At least eleven people were found dead in their basements, on account of the extreme flooding produced by the storm. 

Along with flooding, the wind speed was a huge factor in the demolition of houses, buildings, and even neighborhoods. “Ida also tied as the fifth-strongest storm to make landfall anywhere in the United States, based on wind speed,” reports The Washington Post. This storm left 150,000 homes without power, making people feel helpless and weak. The rapid intensification generated by Ida created a doubling of wind requirements in 24 hours, spreading fear among many American citizens everywhere. Many states declare a state of emergency due to their streets flooding and causing severe accidents. Uriel Aguilar, a citizen of Passaic New Jersey stated “I came out of work late that night, our store ended up flooded. The streets were flooded and it reached up to my legs. I was struggling to walk, I was afraid that the water stream would take me” Many people were reported missing that night. 

Landfalling in Louisiana, Ida coincidentally hit the day of the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina while wrecking more than 30,000 power-line poles. “Hurricane Ida’s damage tally could top $95 billion, making it the seventh costliest hurricane since 2000,” states CNBC.

Because of the impairment done, Ida surpassed Hurricane Ike of 2008 and has traumatized all citizens who’ve been hit. “It has been a really devastating time–I feel remorse towards all of the families that have lost a loved one or their home, but I hope they feel everyone’s prayers because as Americans, we should come together to support our fellow citizens,” says Izabella Munoz, a Wayne Valley High School student. No one enjoys hurricanes and there’s really no way to prevent them, but maybe one day we can all come together as a nation and prepare as much as we can to prevent the damage.