Lilli and Sammy Ziegler had seen hurricanes, but Ida was different.
What they expected would be a weakening storm picked up steam as it neared the Louisiana coast, transforming into a monster that ripped roofs off buildings, flooded neighborhoods and knocked out the power — in some places for more than a month.
“You could hear the wind whistling. It was really loud,” 16-year-old Sammy says. “It was howling, howling, howling.”
That lasted for seven hours outside the Ziegler home as the wind toppled nearby trees and powerline poles. And their neighborhood didn’t even receive the full brunt of the storm.
After slamming into Louisiana, the violent storm raged across several more states. Although
