Hurricane Ida stormed the East Coast and caused major damages from Louisiana to New York.
Hurricane Ida, a category four hurricane, struck the southern United States towards the end of August and finished its course in the northeast at the beginning of September. This hurricane was one of the worst in America, leaving people all across the east coast without power, flood damage, and 45 deaths nationwide, most of which were in the New York area. Due to the severity of the storm, Ida is being compared to other devastating hurricanes.
Liz Patterson, a full time student and volleyball player in Hoboken, New Jersey describes her experience with the storm saying, “I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. We had just come back from a game and had to walk home in flooding conditions… it was extremely hectic.” Patterson lives in a sorority house with eleven other girls, all of whom felt the effects of the storm. She goes on to say, “We were all panicked and worried about the condition of the house and more importantly about tornadoes headed towards us.” Not only did Ida cause lots of destruction, but it caused a series of tornadoes all across the state of New Jersey. Tornadoes are not a normal occurrence on the east coast, which made this hurricane especially scary for residents.
While Patterson had similar experience to the other girls in her sorority, everyone on the east coast had a very unique experience with the storm. Jennifer Maggio, a high school student in Somerset County, New Jersey, had a very different experience with the storm, which included being unable to fly home to New Jersey after a trip to California. She describes her feelings about the storm by saying, “I wasn’t [in New Jersey] but also me not being there during it and not knowing what was going to happen made it scarier for me.” From Louisiana to New Jersey, communities all across the east coast are taking measures in order to heal. Maggio says, “There have been many fundraisers at my school and online… I also know someone who is a chief volunteer firefighter. He was working nonstop for 36 plus hours helping people in the flood.” These are some of the ways that people on the east coast are beginning to repair their communities.
Like many other destructive hurricanes, Ida has caused lots of damage to towns all across the east, however, it still differs from other hurricanes. Patterson said, “This hurricane is sadly not the worst hurricane experience I have encountered… I did however see and experience much more flooding than I ever had.” The damages of Ida are even being compared to the damages of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. Maggio compares this Hurricane to Sandy saying, “I remember living at my old house [in New Jersey] and luckily it never flooded, but I did lose power for 13 days.” It is clear that this hurricane will go down as one of the worst storms in the United States however, communities are taking steps to ensure they heal from the hurricane and for some, healing from the loss of loved ones. This experience has contributed to preparation for protection in case of another major storm.
