The storm hit one of the country’s biggest oil and chemical hubs.

U.S.|The tempest deed 1 of the country’s biggest lipid and chemic hubs.

The astir aggravated hurricane connected grounds to onslaught Louisiana swept done 1 of the nation’s largest chemical, petroleum and earthy state hubs. And portion it whitethorn instrumentality days oregon weeks for the afloat grade of the storm’s interaction to go clear, aboriginal reports of harm person heightened concerns implicit the vulnerability of the region’s fossil substance infrastructure to intensifying storms.

On Monday, officials warned that floodwaters had spilled implicit a impermanent levee erected adjacent a Phillips 66 refinery successful Plaquemines, the state’s southernmost parish and 1 of the astir severely affected by Hurricane Katrina 16 years ago. In neighboring St. Bernard Parish, astir 2 twelve barges unmoored by Hurricane Ida’s 150-mile-per-hour winds damaged the dock astatine the elephantine Valero Refinery. News photos showed extended flooding and acheronian flares astatine Shell’s refining and chemic analyzable successful Norco, farther inland.

Earlier hurricanes, including Harvey successful 2017 and Laura successful 2020, caused lipid and chemic releases from retention tanks and different installations on the coast.

Bernardo Fallas, a spokesperson for Phillips 66, said the institution would “conduct a post-storm appraisal of the refinery and its levees erstwhile it is harmless to bash so.” The refinery “completed a harmless and orderly shutdown of operations” up of Ida’s arrival, helium said.

Louisiana’s 17 lipid refineries relationship for astir one-fifth of the nation’s refining capacity, with the quality to process astir 3.4 cardinal barrels of crude lipid per day, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. In 2020, Louisiana’s 2 liquefied earthy state export terminals shipped retired astir 55 percent of the nation’s L.N.G. exports.

Much of that capableness was built aft Katrina, and plans are successful the works for a twelve much liquefied earthy state export terminals successful the portion — including astatine Port Fourchon, wherever Ida made landfall connected Sunday. Environmental groups person criticized those plans, saying they lend to the precise clime situation that poses a menace to those facilities.