Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana on Sunday, Aug. 29. The storm was formed in the Caribbean on Thursday, Aug. 26. Ida was an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm and sustained winds up to 150 mph. Ida then turned inland, bringing rain, strong winds and tornado watches all throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Hurricane Ida coincidentally made landfall the same day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall 16 years ago on the southeast Louisiana and Mississippi coast.
Here in Mississippi, residents across the state are picking up the damage from Hurricane Ida. Over 144,000 Mississippi residents lost power during the height of the storm. The hardest-hit areas are in the southwest part of the state near McComb and Brookhaven. “Because of the extent of damage and rebuilding required, we expect recovery to be difficult and challenging, and customers in the hardest-hit areas should expect extended power outages lasting for weeks,” officials stated.
While Hurricane Ida was a Category 4 storm, the damages were not as bad as we expected here in Mississippi. Many schools closed on Monday, Aug. 30, expecting major damages but here in Madison County, there was just rain and strong winds. Most of the severe damages were in South Mississippi, near the coast. Sadly, two deaths occurred in Mississippi when a section of major highway collapsed in George County in the state’s southeast, said Malary White, the external affairs director for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Ten other people were injured due to the storm. “Compared to Louisiana, we caught a big break,” White said.
Hurricane Ida was expected to be another Hurricane Katrina for Mississippi but thankfully we did not have as much damage as expected. Sadly, two people lost their lives and 10 others were injured. Mississippi was very lucky compared to Louisiana where Hurricane Ida hit hard. Thankfully here at the Holmes campus in Ridgeland we did get a day off for the storm but now we are back to normal, hoping for a great rest of the semester with no more hurricanes.
