Hurricane Ida made history by becoming the second most intense hurricane to hit Louisiana, on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (which holds the #1 spot).

It’s built to be one of the strongest storms in U.S. history with winds topping 150mph sweeping through Louisiana when the hurricane made landfall on Sunday.

Over 450,000 people have been left without power and the first fatality of the storm was announced in the late hours of Sunday.

Even though Hurricane Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm by Monday morning, life-threatening flash flood warnings stayed in place for most of the day. 

Where is Hurricane Ida affecting?

Hurricane Ida formed in the Caribbean on August 26th, first hitting Cuba on August 27th. 

It then strengthened and made its way to the Louisiana coast over August 28th before finally making landfall near Port Fourchon on August 29th.

How does Hurricane Ida compare to Katrina?

When Hurricane Ida made landfall, it had stronger winds blowing at 150mph compared to 125mph from Katrina. 

The narrative has been that Ida will be a sort of sequel to Katrina, echoed by the fact that they landed within 50 miles of each other. 

However, what made Katrina so devastating was the failure of the levee system. 

But since 2005, over $13 billion has been invested in the system, and local officials have confidence in their strength. 

As of Monday morning, the upgraded levees had held back any flooding caused by the storm.

What’s next?

President Biden has declared Hurricane Ida as a major disaster. 

Following the hurricane, federal aid will be allocated to assist with recovery efforts. 

Claims in the IPCC stating that human influence on weather extremes, such as hurricanes, has strengthened. 

Hurricane Ida could be the first of many major storms that the southern coast sees over the next few decades.