Does Hurricane Ian pose immense threat to Florida? Read to know

The small Louisiana town of Ironton has become an island in a sea of mud and snake-infested marsh grass. Nearby houses are disconnected from their foundations, a refrigerator is lodged sideways in a tree, and dozens of caskets and tombs from two nearby cemeteries are strewn across lawns for blocks. The entire town is without power and running water.

Churches and charity organisations are working to help, but the destruction is so far-reaching. Donations have been slow to trickle in compared to previous storms, even smaller ones, and there's not enough to meet the demand.

Residents says the recovery from Ida will be a long one — yearslong for some. Families that have been able to return are in various stages of cleanup as they wait for insurance adjusters to assess damage and federal assistance funds to come through.

When Ida came ashore on August 29, it knocked out power to about 1.1 million customers in the state. The vast majority have seen their power restored, but in a sign of the storm's extent, thousands are still in the dark while downed lines are righted and substations repaired.