In the placid days leading up to Hurricane Ida, Charlie Walker was not afraid.
The longtime resident of Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier island on the Louisiana coast, was no stranger to storms. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
The longtime resident of Grand Isle, the only inhabited barrier island on the Louisiana coast, was no stranger to storms. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
Walker watched his neighbors’ cars, laden with precious belongings, snake their way off the island. Soon, he was one of just about 100 of 1,500 full-time Grand Isle residents left behind. Then Ida gathered strength. huffpost.com/entry/louisian… 
Meteorologists were predicting it would make landfall as a Category 4, with a much higher storm surge. Others left on Grand Isle were starting to sense that there was nothing to do but let fate run its course. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
When the storm rolled in on Sunday morning, resident Rick Smith laid down on his bed. For 12 hours, he didn’t break eye contact with the framed portrait of Jesus Christ that hung on the opposite wall. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
Grand Isle was barely recognizable after the storm. Downed power lines and telephone poles crisscrossed the main road in enormous tangles, and entire buildings were gone. Huge lakes of seawater stretched the width of the island. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
At the same time, Louisiana’s barrier islands are already being threatened. They’re experiencing some of the fastest relative sea-level rises in the world ― nearly three times the global average, according to NOAA. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
Their disappearance is a great concern for scientists, politicians and anyone else who understands the vital role barrier islands play in protecting coastal communities. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
“They’re sometimes described as speed bumps,” said Torbjörn Törnqvist, a geology professor said. Without them the impact of hurricanes on the mainland, including New Orleans, will be much worse. huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
Of course, for residents of Grand Isle, serving as a hurricane “speed bump” has obvious drawbacks. They’ve endured decades of destruction, and they've always rebuilt.
That is, until Ida.
Read the full story:
huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
That is, until Ida.
Read the full story:
huffpost.com/entry/louisian…
All photography by @kitracahana.
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