On August 29, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 storm southwest of New Orleans. The storm was one of the most intense hurricanes to ever hit the state, with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, causing widespread power outages, flooding, and at least four deaths. Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. As Ida weakens and moves northeast, many Louisiana residents are now assessing the damage, rescuing the stranded, and recovering what they can.
Photos: The Aftermath of Hurricane Ida
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
-
![A firefighter walks through strong wind and rain while removing fallen trees at night.]()
Read moreMontegut fire chief Toby Henry walks back to his fire truck in the rain as firefighters cut through trees on the road in Bourg, Louisiana, as Hurricane Ida passes on August 29, 2021. #
Mark Felix / AFP / Getty -
-
![A satellite image of a large hurricane approaching Louisiana]()
Read moreA satellite image shows Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico as it approaches the coast of Louisiana on August 29, 2021. #
NOAA / Reuters -
![A man takes pictures of high waves.]()
Read moreA man takes pictures of high waves along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as Hurricane Ida nears, in New Orleans, on August 29, 2021. #
Gerald Herbert / AP -
![Firefighters cut through fallen trees at night.]()
Read moreMontegut and Bourg firefighters cut through trees on the road in Bourg, Louisiana, on August 29, 2021. #
Mark Felix / AFP / Getty -
-
![A burned car sits among a pile of smoking rubble.]()
Read moreA view of an apartment building that burned down overnight after Hurricane Ida struck the Relais Esplanade Apartments in Kenner, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Mickey Welsh / USA TODAY Network via Reuters -
![A person picks through the debris of a destroyed hose.]()
Read moreAlonzo Lewis rescues items from his mother's home after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ida on August 30, 2021, in LaPlace, Louisiana. #
Scott Olson / Getty -
![An aerial view of a flooded neighborhood]()
Read moreA neighborhood is seen flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Lafitte, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
David J. Phillip / AP -
-
![Several people walk on a roof, viewed through a fallen tree.]()
Read moreCarlos Paz Jr. (left) walks on the roof of his home as he and his parents repair it after Hurricane Ida moved through LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Steve Helber / AP -
![Cars and trucks drive past a storm-damaged industrial area.]()
Read moreVehicles drive past a petrochemical plant near Highway 61 in Norco, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021, after Hurricane Ida made landfall. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
![Several rescue-team members help a person escape flooding in a boat.]()
Read moreMembers of a rescue team help evacuate people in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Marco Bello / Reuters -
-
![A man sits on his porch and cries with debris from his damaged house visible in the background.]()
Read moreTheophilus Charles, 70, weeps while sitting on the front porch of his heavily damaged home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Houma, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. Charles, who hunkered down in the house through the category 4 storm, says he has now lost everything. #
Adrees Latif / Reuters -
![A pickup truck and jeep drive through a flooded street causing waves.]()
Read moreVehicles pass through a flooded street in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Steve Helber / AP -
![A man stands in a street looking at a severely damaged house.]()
Read moreDartanian Stovall looks at the house that collapsed with him inside during the height of Hurricane Ida, in New Orleans, on August 30, 2021. Stovall said he was inside the house that he was renovating on Lasalle Street in the Uptown neighborhood when the chimney collapsed and the rest of the house followed. He managed to crawl to safety. #
Michael Democker / USA Today Network via Reuters -
-
![A rescue helicopter lowers a person from a cable above a residential neighborhood.]()
Read moreA rescue helicopter carries members of a rescue team helping evacuate people in a neighborhood in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Marco Bello / Reuters -
![A man stands in a street looking at damaged storefronts.]()
Read moreDowntown business owner Pat Ring looks at some of the damage to businesses along Main Street in Houma, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
David J. Phillip / AP -
![An aerial view of a barge jammed up against a damaged bridge.]()
Read moreA barge damaged a bridge that divides Lafitte and Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, on August 30, 2021 #
David J. Phillip / AP -
-
![A man holds his small child inside a car.]()
Read moreJohn Legard cleans and checks on his son in a car after Hurricane Ida passed through New Orleans, on August 30, 2021. "I'm just glad my son didn't have to deal with this hurricane like how I dealt with Katrina. I was in a much safer area this time around," said Legard. #
Brandon Bell / Getty -
![A truck drives down a road beneath damaged and leaning utility poles.]()
Read moreUtility poles lean over a street following Hurricane Ida, seen on August 31, 2021, in Houma, Louisiana. #
Scott Olson / Getty -
![Woman walks down a darkened street at night toward a single bright light.]()
Read moreA police officer patrols past a woman walking along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, after Hurricane Ida knocked out the city's power, on August 30, 2021. #
Eric Gay / AP -
-
![A pile of wood and bricks sits where a building once stood in downtown New Orleans.]()
Read moreA building that was destroyed by Hurricane Ida, seen on August 30, 2021, in New Orleans #
Brandon Bell / Getty -
![People use a boat to navigate a flooded highway.]()
Read morePeople use a boat to navigate a flooded Highway 51 in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Mickey Welsh / Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY Network via Reuters -
![A half dozen fishing boats sit grounded near the shore.]()
Read moreBoats are seen lying on the ground after Hurricane Ida passed through, in Lafitte, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
David J. Phillip / AP -
-
![Several adults carry belongings, a pet, and a child in knee-deep flood water, with a rescue vehicle in the background.]()
Read moreMichael Thomas (back) carries his daughter Mikala out of his flooded neighborhood while a high-water-rescue vehicle moves past, in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Steve Helber / AP -
![A woman and her dog sit on a piece of debris in front of her destroyed home.]()
Read moreFran Tribe sits with her dog Dave outside a home destroyed by Hurricane Ida in Houma, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Scott Clause / USA Today Network via Reuters -
![Several people lift boxes and a pet onto the back of a high water truck while standing in flood water.]()
Read moreVolunteers Desiree Nye (left) and Hunter Louque (center), of Saint Amant, help Darrin Heisser evacuate his flooded home with his dog Sonny (in tub) with the help of Troy Gerard (right) as they climb into a high-water truck volunteering to evacuate people from flooded homes in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
-
![People being evacuated in the back of a tall truck are soaked by a sudden rain shower.]()
Read morePeople react as a sudden rain shower soaks them while riding out of a flooded neighborhood in a volunteer high-water truck in LaPlace, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty -
![A person stands on top the rubble of a destroyed storage unit holding a light fixture.]()
Read moreJeremy Hodges removes a light from his family's destroyed storage unit in Houma, Louisiana, on August 30, 2021. #
David J. Phillip / AP -
![Bowling balls sit in a rack inside a heavily storm-damaged bowling alley.]()
Read moreBowling balls sit in a rack inside the heavily storm-damaged Bowl South of Louisiana in Houma, Louisiana, on August 31, 2021. #
David J. Phillip / AP -
-
![A person walks down a residential street with fallen trees and utility poles behind them.]()
Read moreTrees and utility lines damaged by Hurricane Ida block a road on August 30, 2021, in LaPlace, Louisiana. #
Scott Olson / Getty
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.