Hurricane Ida, the fifth-strongest hurricane ever to hit the mainland United States, slammed into New Orleans on Sunday, bringing to Louisiana’s southern coast 150-mile-per-hour winds and a 16-foot storm surge exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. The difference between 2005 and now, however, is dramatic, as well as a tribute to lessons learned and investments made after that earlier tragedy.
Ida’s impacts are by no means small. The storm destroyed a major transmission line over the Mississippi River. Along with other damage, this left 1 million…
