Headline Roundup • August 31st, 2021
Ida Leaves More Than 1 Million Without Power in Louisiana
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Louisiana Sunday night, killing at least two people and leaving over 1 million people without power across the state. After hitting the Louisiana coast with winds nearing 150 mph, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression as it passed through Mississippi Tuesday, where two more deaths were attributed to the storm Monday. Flights in and out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport were canceled Tuesday for the third straight day. One of Louisiana's energy providers said some people may be without power for several weeks.
The storm was covered across the spectrum, but highlighted more prominently by left- and center-rated sources. Reports often focused on the aftermath, with many highlighting the power outages and loss of life; many also mentioned that the storm happened on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Some reports from left-rated sources focused on scientists who attributed the storm's formation to climate change; some coverage from right-rated outlets focused on Ida's economic consequences, such as the possibility that gas prices could rise due to refineries shutting down during the storm. Local news outlets highlighted how the $14.5 billion-worth of levees, floodwalls, pumps and gates built in the state after Katrina likely prevented mass flooding and more deaths.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Staff Photo by Travis Spradling
Hurricane Ida arrived in Louisiana Sunday every bit as ornery as advertised: 150 mph winds, some of the fiercest to ever hit American shores, bringing with them intense rainfall and storm surge that left a swath of carnage in its wake.
The massive storm, which arrived on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, sent rescuers scrambling to retrieve people from attics as flood waters poured into places like Lafitte, LaPlace and Braithwaite. The winds, matching the highest speeds ever recorded in Louisiana, tore roofs off homes, toppled transmission towers and...
Long before Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday in southern Louisiana, climatologist David Keellings was already filled with dread.
As the storm passed over the western end of Cuba and moved over the Gulf of Mexico, Keellings, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, knew it would become fierce and unruly.
"I was saying, 'Uh oh, it’s going to head over some really warm water,'" he said. "And it did."
Once the storm began churning up the Gulf's unusually warm water — 86 degrees at places, even at depths of more than...
Hurricane Ida is likely to lead to some increase in gasoline prices, but nothing dramatic, analysts say.
Oil prices have not surged despite Ida forcing the shutdown of 96% of oil production and 94% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Oil prices are the biggest contributor to prices at the pump.
At least nine refineries in Louisiana have reduced production or shut-in operations in response to the storm, together accounting for about 13% of the total U.S. refining capacity, according to the Department of Energy.
The Gulf is...
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