PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (LA MS) Hurricane Ida flooding and recovery

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2021 17:08:34 EDT

Summary: Flooding and damage from Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of approximately 150 mph when it made landfall near Port Fourchon, LA on September 29 around 1655 UTC. Storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico, high winds, and flooding have caused significant and widespread impact to southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

Storm surge and rain caused extensive flooding in the Barataria, Terrebonne, Pontchartrain, and Pearl River basins. At this time, NWS predicts major flooding at seven forecast points north and east of Lake Pontchartrain, though predicted levels are well below historic crests at those stations.

17 USGS gages have been damaged or destroyed. Because of ongoing rescue operations and extremely limited access --most of the damaged stations were accessible only by boat-- it will be later this week at the earliest before crews are able to assess the full extent of the damage.

Crews are positioned from surrounding offices to assist with any flood measurements or repair efforts, though any crews coming to the impacted area will need to bring their own supplies of food, water, and extra fuel because of limited resources and widespread power outages in the area. Assistance from the neighboring Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center has been.

Crews from the Montgomery, Alabama office are working in the Mobile, AL area today. Additional crews from the Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi offices are planning to make measurements and site visits tomorrow in response to Hurricane Ida rainfall in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama.