Trail of toxic chemicals left in aftermath of Ida
Hurricane Ida left toxic sewage in its wake as it barrelled across the United States and has killed at least 48 people in the northeast.
Workers scrambled to clean up after sewer systems failed and facilities containing industrial chemicals were battered. In New York, where at least 11 people died, there was criticism of those who continued to order restaurant takeout, putting delivery drivers at risk.
Ida made landfall on Sunday, carving its way through Louisiana with 240 km/h winds and a storm surge so powerful it temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi. It passed through an area of the state containing hundreds of chemical plants.
Hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste water also escaped from New Orleans' Jefferson Parish sewer system, Bloomberg reported.
The Environmental Protection Agency dispatched an aircraft with photographic and chemical-detection equipment to Louisiana. It flew over areas including a refinery along the Mississippi River to assess the threat of chemical spillages. In the Gulf of Mexico, a brownish-black slick also appeared near an oil rig in the waters south of Port Fourchon.
Images of the disaster zone taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed significant flooding at a refinery in Belle Chasse, La.
In some sections of the refinery, a rainbow sheen and black streaks were visible on the water leading toward the river.
According to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, a levee that was meant to protect the plant was breached, allowing flood waters to flow in. In all, Louisiana regulators were tracking 100 reports of chemical and petroleum spills.
Stephanie Morris, spokesman for the Louisiana Oil Spill Co-ordinator's Office, said: “We're in what we call the rapid-assessment phase, because we are trying to assess it from the air ... We don't have a sense yet of what the sources of sheens might be or volumes.”
As the storm hit the northeast, water cascaded into people's homes and engulfed cars, overwhelming drainage systems.
The death toll was highest in New Jersey, reaching at least 25. Some drowned after their cars were caught in flash floods.
New Jersey and New York had both spent billions improving flood defences after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but much of that work was on the coasts and tidal floodplains. Kathy Hochul, New York's governor, said on Thursday that the region needed to update its storm systems to handle more frequent flash flooding.
“We're not treating this as if it's not going to happen again for 500 years,” she said.
Meanwhile, delivery drivers in New York said it was a “cruel joke” that they had plowed through water above their waists for “pathetic” pay and tips during the storm.