Photos and video of Hurricane Ida's devastation
Hurricane Ida barreled into the Louisiana coast on Sunday, bringing with it catastrophic levels of flooding and 150 mph winds that tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the U.S. mainland.
Officials described chest-level floodwaters filling homes. The entire city of New Orleans lost power. Levees were overtopped. Winds scattered power lines. Residents were trapped on rooftops and in attics.
At least one death was reported by Monday morning, but much of the damage remained unaccounted for, and rescue efforts remain underway.
The winds also slowed down on Monday, causing Ida to become a tropical storm as it centered over Mississippi. But dangerous winds and flash floods continue to threaten the region, complicating efforts to save trapped residents and repair electricity grids.
Notably, Ida smashed into Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, striking the same coastline and drawing instant comparisons between the two storms. Katrina caused widespread devastation, with a death toll of over 1,800 and damage topping $175 billion.
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Not everyone in New Orleans evacuated the city ahead of Hurricane Ida, but those that elected to evacuate are being told to keep their distance. “If you have evacuated out of #NOLA, we request that you DO NOT RETURN until further notice,” the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said on Monday. “There is widespread debris, power remains out, and emergency services are working to respond to those still in the city.” The agency was unable to give an estimate of when people will be allowed to return, but said that they will provide an update when it is safe for residents to come home.
In February 2020, Israel365 News predicted that any attempts by a White House administration to institute an “anti-covenant” policy that divided the land of Israel would inevitably result in a natural catastrophe of historic proportions. That prediction came true this week as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with President Biden for the first time and as Bennett flew home, Hurricane Ida made landfall. This prediction was not the result of prescience or prophecy but is simply the latest in a historical series so compelling that it verges on absolute certainty.
“Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms to ever hit Louisiana,” a news release from the governor said. “It is our goal to assist our local agencies and the citizens of the state as quickly as possible, and we have pre-positioned search and rescue teams, boats, and other assets to begin helping people as soon as it is safe.”
Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr. told ABC News, “Never seen one like this. Worst storm in our history.” He said the storm waters are over the levees, have destroyed, and have put people in “imminent” danger.
Significantly, Ida made landfall just as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began his flight back to Jerusalem after his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden. The focus of their meeting was on the existential threat of Iran’s nuclear program that the Biden administration is hoping to rejuvenate through a reinstated Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. But their discussions also dealt with the future of Judea and Samaria. Biden is dedicated to a “Two-State solution” which would create a Palestinian state similar to Gaza inside of Israel, ethnically cleansed of Jews, with its ethnically cleansed capital in Jerusalem.
As such, Biden is pressuring Israel to inhibit Jews living in the Biblical heartland by advocating a policy of “natural growth” for Jews in Judea and Samaria but not for Arabs. Bennett conceded, advocating for a plan that currently provided for Jews living in 21,500 acres, spread out across just 1.52% of Judea and Samaria. In principle, construction, in accordance with the natural growth of the half a million strong Jewish population, will eventually include around 132,695 acres, or 9.38% of Judea and Samaria, and will include the addition of several thousand new housing units every year.
The Biden administration has already stated its goal of a total freeze on Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria, and the sections of Jerusalem that were illegally occupied by Jodan before 1967. This policy was expressed two weeks ago when the Bennett government walked back its plan to build 3,623 new homes in the Biblical heartland, revising that to 2,200, a reduction of 39%. The restrictions on the ability for Jews to live in Judea and Samaria came at the behest of the Biden administration after complaints from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
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