Hurricane Zeta became the fifth named storm to come ashore on the Louisiana coast this year, killing six people across the southeast and complicating efforts to recover from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, which struck the southwestern region of the state in the past several months. Significant damage was also reported in southern Alabama, which has been working to recover from Hurricane Sally which struck the state earlier this season.
Zeta made landfall as a powerful category 2 hurricane with damaging winds and storm surge along the coastline, leaving more than 2.1 million customers without power including two-thirds of New Orleans’s residents. The storm made its way across southern Louisiana before striking coastal Alabama and Mississippi. Powerful winds continued to follow Zeta even as it lost strength after landfall, with 70 mph wind gusts reported as far as away as Atlanta.
The storm brought additional complications to those still in shelters from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Out of 3,394 residents sheltering in New Orleans hotels, only 76 had evacuated due to Zeta. Louisiana had taken measures to move some of these residents out of their rooms earlier this month, saying that they needed to move back to their damaged homes and sparking backlash from state and local advocates. FEMA announced that President Trump had approved an emergency declaration for Hurricane Zeta in Louisiana and Mississippi and approved assistance to local governments dealing with storm damage.
The formation of such a powerful storm this late in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which ends November 30, has been rare, as cooler waters prevent rapid intensification of storms into major hurricanes. However, the 2020 Hurricane Season has been anything but typical, with 27 storms recorded – one shy of the record 28 storms during the 2005 season. As climate change continues, disasters are projected to increase in strength, frequency, and strike in new areas. Because low-income households often experience the effects of disasters and receive the least amount of assistance afterward, key reforms must be made to ensure that all survivors receive the assistance and protection they need.
Read NLIHC’s FEMA Reform Recommendations at: https://bit.ly/35Q0n8o
Read NLIHC’s Reforming America’s Disaster Recovery Report at: https://bit.ly/37XpKaL