As far as costly disasters go, Hurricane Ida was no Katrina, but the damage inflicted by its rapid escalation and unpredictable path is troubling to observers who say the event reflects a newly ascendent type of storm that is both less predictable and more expensive.
“The big driver of wind loss, aside from wind itself, is damage from trees,” said Tom Sabbatelli-Goodyer, director of event response at catastrophe-modeling firm RMS. The time it takes for these storms to develop has accelerated, as well. “Rapid intensification is a wild card. I don’t think it is an item in any community’s evacuation plan,” said Jim Blackburn, professor of environmental law and co-director of the Severe Storm Prevention, Education and Evacuation from Disaster Center at Rice University.
“I definitely think there's going to be quite a bit of impact overall. The supply chain is constrained already, and we’re already in peak season,” said Spencer Shute, principal consultant at supply chain and procurement management firm Proxima. “It’s going to be a compound issue.”