A nation has to unite because of a deadly storm. 

The southeast United States, specifically Louisiana, is in complete disarray after Hurricane Ida made landfall. Many buildings and settlements have been destroyed, and the efforts that it will take to rebuild them will be financially draining. Many people’s lives have been affected by this catastrophic storm. 

Originally a Category Four Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana at 11:55 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2021, which also happened to be the 16year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. With 150 mile per hour winds, it caused water and gas shortages along with major power outages across the state, which continued days after the storm originally hit. Thousands of people have been left in poor living conditions and even homelessness because of the destruction. Even more people haven’t been able to come back home after evacuations. 

“It’s very scary to know that a lot of my relatives live there, especially when you never know when a hurricane may hit and how severe it will be,” junior Demani Butlersaid, who has family in the area where Ida hit. Her family, along with many others, have experienced large amounts of property damage from the storm. 

The remnants of Hurricane Ida have continued to move up the northeast United States, causing massive tornadoes and flooding in that area. Because of this, there were widespread public transit delays. In New York, multiple subways were flooded, which caused lack of transportation. The major amounts of flooding in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have led to people being trapped in their homes, and even killed. 

The price of Ida’s damages are costly. It will take an estimated $95 billion to help rebuild parts of Louisiana and other parts of the northeast United States. This makes Ida the seventh costliest hurricane since 2000. It has had an effect on the greater economy too – it has caused United States oil production to decline, which has caused nearly 30 million oil barrels to be destroyed. The pandemic could potentially make rebuilding an even harder task, because of already-present supply shortages. 

The current death toll is 88; 28 of those deaths being in Louisiana, 50 being from the remnants of Ida that hit the northeast over this past week.