Hurricane Ida Leaves Indelible Mark in Louisiana

16 years after Katrina, residents face challenges of cleanup, rebuilding

Power lines are down along Main Street after Hurricane Ida swept through, in LaPlace, La., on Aug. 31, 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The one thing Debbie Russel of LaPlace, Louisiana, remembers about Hurricane Ida is the wind—“It was unreal.”

“The wind was so strong,” she said. “We just got in the hall and prayed. I had my hands over my ears—the wind.”