Ida exposes the split between hurricane response and infrastructure policy

Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm on August 29, 2021, then sent deadly flooding into the Northeast. President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Louisiana on August 29 and FEMA authorized individual and public assistance for designated parishes. NOAA identified Ida as 2021’s costliest disaster at about $75 billion in that year’s analysis.