Tropical Storm Ida - HIC Flashcards
Location and date
Hurricane Ida, august to September 2021 - northern eastern USA - landed in port fourchon in Louisiana
What category and where did it go
Rapid intensification up to landfall
Category 4 - sustained winds of 150mph
Travelled up the northeastern side of the USA - along up to some parts on New York
Stayed as a category 4 hurricane for 6 hours - didn’t weaken rapidly after landfall
Primary hazards
Extreme winds of 150 mph heavy rainfall leading to severe flooding storm searches along the coast ( reaching up to 10-15 ft in some parts of Louisiana) and even tornadoes in some areas
ripped across 1500 miles across the USA
- stayed as a category 4 for 6 hours - didn’t weaken rapidly after landfall
Secondary hazards
Prolonged power outage, particularly in Louisiana for several weeks disrupted infrastructure including water sources,
Transport networks, and communication systems hampering recovery efforts the destruction of homes also posed long-term challenges for affected communities - Lots of displacement and homelessness (thousands).
More than 800,000 homes with 941,392 needing to be reconstructed
Impacts
91 deaths
Estimated cost of 75 billion usd
Short term impacts
Social - limited access to Clearwater, electricity and healthcare - emotional distress and trauma
Economic -  $75 billion in damage local businesses, industries affected and destroyed - disruption in supply chains
Environmental - damaged ecosystems, debris, water pollution, saltwater encroachment, water contamination
Political - emergency response allocation policy discussion, funding ,public perception and accountability 
Long term impacts
Social - prolonged emotional distress (link to cognitive responses to hazard - fatalism) changing demographic due to homelessness ongoing challenges and rebuilding homes.
Economic - businesses and industries faced long-term recovery investment and long-term infrastructure repair were vital for economic recovery
Environmental - Ecosystem damage soil erosion, saltwater encroachment disruption to natural habitats
Political - faced pressure to implement investment to stable infrastructure for future hazards and community resilient programs
Short term responses (local and international)
Local
Evacuation and rescue operations in high risk areas
Emergency shelters and supplies set up by local government and community
Immediate efforts to fix/restore important infrastructure, e.g. power and water
International
International aid from countries such as Canada, Mexico and the UK this included finance supplies, humanitarian support etc.
Humanitarian support – global NGO and relief organisations e.g. Red Cross and UNICEF
Long term management strategies
Infrastructure investment – lease, dams, building standards – structural resilience – pump stations and drainage systems
There is a flood vulnerability by reducing exposure, reducing susceptibility and increasing resilience
There is conversation about better floodplain development standards. less infrastructure on flood planes
Restore natural capacity of these floodplains in order to increase infiltration restoring forests and wetlands
How did it form
Formed as a tropical depression in the Caribbean sea and increased to a hurricane the next day making landfall over Louisiana. Then climbed to a category forest and move towards the Louisiana coast over the Gulf of Mexico.
Links to park model
Pre distaster - started as a deflation in the Caribbean Sea 
Event - London Port Fourchon Louisiana, category 4– 150 mph winds – August 29, 2021. Rapid intensification upon landfall in Gulf of Mexico. Increased to a cat 4 in a day - hard to predict
Coastal flooding, storm surges of 10-15 ft
Disruption - Started travelling north east stayed as category for landfall didn’t weaken rapidly
Pronged power outage in Louisiana – several weeks – affected recovery rate water and transport
More than 800,000 homes destroyed 950,000 million reconstruction. Lots of displacement and homelessness. 
Relief - media effort to repair infrastructure straight away – power, roads, sanitary water, communication – for ease of support and to better benefit the ease of recovery and response
Rehabilitation - emergency shelters and supplies set up locally humanitarian support from NGOs – Red Cross plus UNICEF
International aid from Allied countries – UK, Canada, Mexico – finances supplies and humanitarian aid
Reconstruction - better floodplain development standards – less infrastructure
Investment into better infrastructure – building standards – defences
Links to hazard management cycle
Preparation - detection and monitoring such as satellite, improved building standards and codes which can withstand tropical storms such as heavier roofing and flood defences such as sea walls
Response - Short term and long-term response strategies from local and international assistance
Short term local response strategies such as fixing and repairing major communication channels and improving water quality and setting up temporary tents and plots to keep people sheltered – this usually comes from global NGOs
Evacuation and pre-warning detection
International aid and finance such as supplies and humanitarian support as well as NGOs and relief organisations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF
Recovery - Reconstruction of housing near 800,000 destroyed with 950,000 needing repairs
Improving quality building standards can reduce this
Long-term fixation to major roadways and clearing of debris as well as fixing water pollution
More long-term economic stability reintroduced after buildings and local businesses are fixed
Mitigation - better defences such as flood defences are through human intervention such as building sea or through allowing areas such as flood planes to be undeveloped and to better increase their carrying capacity and saturation of water
