Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, August 29, as a Category 4 storm packing sustained winds of 150 mph-one of the strongest storms ever to hit the mainland United States. International Medical Corps is mobilizing resources and launching a response in the wake of the storm. Our teams stand ready to rapidly identify needs and deploy the staff, supplies and equipment required to support the locally led response efforts.
Hurricane Ida has left more than 1 million Louisiana residents without power-straining healthcare facilities and other critically needed services. Heavy rains are expected to continue causing additional flooding and damage. At least one person has been killed, but that number, along with those injured, is expected to rise in the coming days. There also is growing concern for the further spread of COVID-19 as people become displaced from their homes.
While the full scope of the damage left by Ida is still unfolding, International Medical Corps is mobilizing resources and launching a response in the wake of the storm. Wind and flooding from hurricanes create a range of emergency needs, including power outages, lack of medications for chronic conditions, infection of wounds, and the possibility for transmission of waterborne diseases. Our teams stand ready to deploy the staff and resources necessary to support the locally led response.
International Medical Corps' approach is to help people help themselves to the extent possible, ensuring a sustained impact in the communities we serve. A first responder for nearly four decades, we maintain extensive experience building back better. In recent years, International Medical Corps has responded to Hurricanes Maria and Irma in Florida and Puerto Rico, Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and Hurricane Michael in Florida.
