On the 26th of August 2021, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, United States was hit by Hurricane Ida. It was classified as a Category 4 storm that had winds blowing at the speed of 240km/h. Th e storm lasted for over a week, dying down only on the 4th of September 2021. During its course, Hurricane Ida travelled from across the northeastern states of the US all the way to Pennsylvania on the first of September that caused tornadoes. It was also the reason for record rainfall in New York caused by the result of a post-tropical cyclone. Louisiana has seen the death of at least 82 people due to the storm and millions of residents were cut off from their electricity supply for weeks. The NGOs and government facilities had to shoulder the supply of basic necessities during and after the storm. One of the worst accompaniments to the hurricane was the urban floods that occurred just before it died down. Th e floods during this time held the record as one of the worst flood disasters to ever happen in the history of the northeast part of the country. Along with causing distress and loss to human lives, there have been several environmental issues that have been caused due to the coming of Hurricane Ida. The state Department of Environmental Quality announced the release of multiple chemicals along with the leakage of crude oil and fuel oils before and during the storm. There was also a release of wastewater due to the power cuts, which posed a major problem for parish pump stations as they moved the majority of their waste via underground pipes. This would later affect the states and country in the long run due to such toxic chemicals and waste that has not infiltrated their resources. Hydrogen, at an unknown amount, was released from the Shell Norco facility. There was also a release of an unknown amount of ammonia from a safety valve in Cornerstone Chemical in Waggaman. Although the valve was repaired to stop the leak, the toxins that were already released into the environment still pose a threat to the health and well being of its citizens and its future generations. Due to the recent occurrences of natural disasters, scientists along with NOAA have said that global warming caused by man could be the reason for a stronger and higher number of hurricanes to be drawn to the coast of the United States. The country has seen five major hurricanes in just the last three to four years all in categories ranging from 4-5 in the Gulf Coast. This gave the country as well as its citizens very little time to recover from the human as well as environmental losses physically, mentally and financially. Researchers have also said that increasing industrialization and urbanization has worsened flood rates. An increase in the ground covered by concrete can lead to a decrease in the amount of ground for the rainwater to be absorbed. A UN agency mentioned that there has been a five fold increase in weather disasters caused by climate change in the last 40 years.
10 Jan 2022
Keerthana Unni
