Menacing Hurricane Ida May Damage 1 Million Homes On Gulf Coast

On Sunday morning, Hurricane Ida is barreling towards the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it could rapidly intensify over the next 24 hours before landfall across the Louisiana coast late Sunday or early Monday. 

The National Hurricane Service (NHC) warned Ida is forecasted to reach Category 4 strength before landfall, making it a major hurricane. 

“Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Sunday,” NHC said Saturday morning. At 0500 ET, the storm sustained maximum winds of 80 mph. 

In an energy note Friday, we noted how offshore oil and natural gas explorers are shuttering platforms and evacuating workers. There’s also concern that the hurricane could disrupt major chemical plants along the Gulf Coast that may send record plastic prices to “stratospheric” levels.

Besides impacting the energy industry, Ida “could damage close to 1 million homes along the U.S. Gulf Coast” and cause upwards of “$220 billion,” according to Bloomberg, citing a new CoreLogic report. 

The property and data analytics firm is worried that a dangerous storm surge could hit 941,392 properties in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Storm surge data from NHC shows an exceptional storm surge is highly probable in Louisiana when the hurricane makes landfall. 

“The central Louisiana coast is at risk of bearing the brunt of Hurricane Ida’s extreme storm surge potential,” CoreLogic said in a statement. 

All eyes are on Ida this weekend as it could damage up to a million homes, disrupt oil and gas assets offshore and on land, and devastate coastal communities trying to rebuild their economies since the economic crash during COVID.