<i>Notes from the Field:</i> Deaths Related to Hurricane Ida Reported by Media — Nine States, August 29–September 9, 2021

Abstract

On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph, causing life-threatening storm surges, wind damage, heavy rainfall, and power outages that affected approximately one million homes and businesses along the U.S. Gulf Coast (1,2). The storm then traveled Northeast as a tropical depression, causing flash flooding, tornadoes, and power outages, before exiting offshore.* During Hurricane Ida's widespread geographic impact, collection and analysis of timely data were necessary to understand regional differences, such as causes and circumstances of death, and to guide public health messaging to promote action (3). In response to the disaster, CDC's Epidemiology Surveillance Task Force (Epi/Surv Task Force) activated media mortality surveillance to track online reports of deaths related to Hurricane Ida using standardized key search terms from an internal standard operating procedure that outlines surveillance protocol. Team members compiled and coded the information from identified sources (e.g., news media articles, press releases, and social media posts) into a database, analyzed the compiled data, and shared results with emergency response leadership and health communicators to provide situational awareness and guide messaging. As of September 9, 2021, the media reported 91 deaths caused by Hurricane Ida across nine states, 56 (61.5%) of which occurred in the Northeast (Table ). Among 71 (78.0%) decedents with known age, 29 (40.8%) were aged 65 years. By cause of death, the majority of deaths (55; 60.4%) occurred by drowning, most (52; 94.5%) of which occurred in the Northeast. Four reported deaths (4.4%) were work-related, either associated with the emergency response (three) or workplace (one). The top three circumstances of death were drowning (34; 37.4%), vehicular (22; 24.2%), and generator-or power outage-related (17; 18.7%). Cause of death is defined as the specific injury or condition that leads to death; circumstance of death is the determination of how the specific injury or condition leads to death. Among the vehicular deaths, 20 (90.9%) were drownings