The World Meteorological Organization removes Ida from the rotating list of hurricane names

US President Joe Biden visits an area affected by Hurricane Ida in Manville, New Jersey, USA – Photo: RTE

On April 27, WMO announced the name Ida will be replaced by the name Imani after meteorologists speculated that future use of the name Ida might evoke painful memories.

Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall on the northeastern coast of the United States in late August 2021, causing severe flooding and power outages in most populated areas.

Rainstorms turned streets into rivers, flooded basements and shut down the New York subway system. According to WMO, Hurricane Ida has claimed the lives of a total of 87 people in the United States.

In 2021, Hurricane Ida is the most destructive of an unusual hurricane season and the third strongest of the named storms. According to WMO, last year also saw 21 named storms with winds of more than 64km/h, including 7 storms with winds of at least 118km/h.

During the annual Atlantic hurricane season, which officially runs from June 1 to November 30, hurricanes are named alternately between male and female names in alphabetical order to facilitate ease of use. be more aware in the warning messages.

EASYThe list of hurricane names is reused every 6 years. If a storm is particularly devastating, its name is dropped and a new name is chosen. According to WMO, Ida is the 94th name to be removed from this list since the rotating list of hurricane names was introduced in 1953.

The WMO says there are an average of 84 named tropical storms each year around the world, storms that have killed an average of 43 people and caused $78 million in damage every day for the past half century.

Scientists think that the increase in Earth’s surface temperature is causing more and more severe effects.