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Highlights
- Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, US on Sunday.
- Ida is one of the strongest hurricanes in 16 years.
- The storm has left over half a million people without power.
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, US, on Sunday as a Category 4 storm with winds of 241 kilometres per hour, severely hitting the natural gas supply.
This is one of the strongest storms to hit the region since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the place almost 16 years ago. Coincidentally, Ida made its landfall on the anniversary of Katrina, which was a Category 3 storm that devastated Louisiana and Mississippi. Katrina had killed more than 1,800 people and caused US$125 billion in damage.
Hurricane Ida is wreaking havoc in the state of Louisiana, leaving 500,000 utility customers without power and the number is expected to spike further.
Ida would put into test New Orleans’ defence mechanism that was put into place after devastating Katrina’s rampage in 2005.
The hurricane would also put to test the health infrastructure in Louisiana, as the city has already been overwhelmed by COVID-10 patients. In fact, a rampaging Hurricane Ida ripped off a portion of the roof from the Lady of the Sea General Hospital in Galliano.
Meanwhile for safety purposes, oil firms through the day, cut nearly 91% of US Gulf of Mexico crude oil production, roughly 1.65 million barrels, as Hurricane Ida made its way toward major US offshore oilfields.
“Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 CDT today, personnel have been evacuated from a total of 279 production platforms, 49.82 percent of the 560 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,” the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement.
The Gulf of Mexico offshore oil production accounts for 17% of the country’s crude oil production and 5% of its federal offshore dry gas production, as per the US Energy Information Administration.
