this is "nightline." >> tonight, historic departure. the image of the last american soldier leaving afghanistan. taliban celebrations. and remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice. plus, ida's devastation. one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever come ashore in the united states. >> the rain just kept coming. it wouldn't stop coming. >> roads impassable. homes destroyed. power cut. >> this entire town is submerged. and summer of soul. reliving the hulu documentary, the harlem cultural festival. >> are you ready, black people? are you ready? >> with soul superstar sly and the family stone, gladys knight,

and a teenage stevie wonder. a celebration of black culture that was almost lost. >> it was just sort of disposed of and forgotten about. we get to give people their life back. >> "nightline" will be right back. friskies world! (cat 2) look at that! (cat 1) it's made with real farm-raised chicken! (cat 2) i gotta get my paws on that! (cat 1) it's friskies farm favorites! (cat 2) the winning farm-ula. (woman vo) feed their fantasy. ♪ friskies ♪ (cat 1) look! friskies ocean favorites! yum! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ thanks for joining us.

just hours ago the last american troops left afghanistan as the first round of troops found it nearly 20 years ago, with the taliban in charge. 2,461 americans died in america's longest war. abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell, who's covered the war since the beginning, is in doha. >> reporter: at 3:29 eastern time, which was 11:59 p.m. on the 30th of august, the last american troops, the last american planes left hamid karzai international airport and america's longest war came to an end. almost 20 years since it began on october the 7th, 2001. general mckenzie, general frank mckenzie spoke from the heart about how difficult this has been for him, the loss of life of 13 american servicemen and women and also of course a much greater loss of life for our afghan allies, many of the people who were gathered outside the gates. the taliban taking over the

airport. the sound of gunfire echoing around the city as they celebrated, saying afghanistan now has its independence. but that's not how many afghans will feel tonight. they will feel abandoned, alone, and afraid. >> our thanks to ian. tonight, most of southeastern louisiana is in the dark. and entire neighborhoods remain submerged. hurricane ida was one of the most powerful storms ever to come ashore, packing winds of 150 miles an hour. the full scale of the destruction won't be known for weeks, but what is clear, the devastation is immense. abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman is the there. >> reporter: this entire town is submerged. here in battered laplace, louisiana volunteers with the cajun navy are skimming across the water, racing to reach hundreds of people stranded in flood waters from hurricane ida.

>> you can hear all the alarms from the hotel sounding because the power's out. there are some people stranded over there. >> reporter: where a town had been there's now a lake. accessible only by boat, and by aircraft. the damage and flooding stretching to the horizon. the hurricane toppled semi trucks, submerging cars. families desperate to get out as more than 70 million americans face flash flood warnings across the east from louisiana to new jersey. on a dry patch of road leslie calvert climbed into a rescue boat. she'd fled her neighborhood. you guys didn't expect it would be this bad? >> we didn't expect it to be this bad. we were in a two-story home and we thought we would have been safe. the rain just kept coming. it wouldn't stop coming. the rain wouldn't stop. >> reporter: hurricane ida slammed down louisiana sunday as one of the most catastrophic hurricanes ever to make landfall. the category 4 hurricane

sustaining winds of 150 miles per hour, dumping up to 18 inches of rain in louisiana, 12 inches in mississippi. it destroyed homes and forced thousands of evacuations across the region. in louisiana tonight over a million without power. homes in some of the hardest-hit areas expected to experience outages for weeks. >> there are roads that are impassable due to debris and downed power lines. and we need people to continue to shelter in place if it's safe for them to do so. >> reporter: officials reporting at least three people are dead. that number likely to rise. the president declaring a major disaster in louisiana. >> we're going to stand with you and the people of the gulf as long as it takes for you to recover. >> reporter: the president activateing the national guard and fema resources to help in recovery efforts. motoring down streets turned into swamps with cajun navy volunteer michael, we came upon this family in laplace. you want to get out? >> reporter: marooned in their

home and surrounded by water. denise cooper's family including her wheelchair-bound mother lucille matthews sheltered in an attic as they rode out the storm. the family asked me to help get lucille down that slippery staircase. michael had left to get reinforcements, and sure enough he came back. the coopers were able to evacuate with just a single suitcase and a few bags in hurricane ida coming 16 years to the day after hurricane katrina. >> the worst case scenario, it did not happen. we did not have another katrina. and that's something, again, we should all be grateful for. however, the impact is absolutely significant. >> i am concerned about our state. i am concerned about the health of the people in south louisiana. from one end of the state to the other. >> reporter: dr. catherine o'neal is the chief medical

officer at our lady of the lake in baton rouge. >> it's different from katrina but in many ways it's the same. >> reporter: she was a resident in 2005 during that deadly storm. >> it's a different time. it is a different place. and yet this morning it felt very similar because all communications were down today for the majority of the day and it felt so eerie to know that people were trapped in their houses. i expect that just like katrina there will be this sort of storm passes and then this wave of people needing care. >> reporter: that category 5 hurricane ravaged the gulf coast, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people, leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake. still it remains the costliest natural disaster in u.s. history. while some buildings did collapse this time around new orleans was largely spared from that kind of widespread devastation. but residents are now faced with a blackout that could last for weeks. the utilities rebuilt after katrina did not hold this massive transmission tower

mangled, power lines falling into the mississippi river. ida damaging all eight sy the new orleans area with electricity. my colleague, victor oquendo, is on the ground with the coast guard as they airlifted survivors to safety. >> reporter: this power pole crashing right down on top of this car. it also looks like it snapped in half. you've got these downed lines. they stretch yeclear across the block. and take a look at that house there. another pole coming down right on the roof. rp. >> lea merchant had power. and then -- >> there was a huge flash and then there was traveling fireballs arcing up and down the lines. >> you saw this happen. >> yeah. they were green and purple and orange. >> reporter: while ida battered louisiana the state was already in the midst of a completely different kind of storm. hospitals overrun with covid patients as cases surge across the region. at dr. o'neal's hospital they're nearing capacity. >> our hospital was full before the hurricane hit.

we were running out of beds. beds that were functional, monitors that were functional. he won't be able to staff as many beds because so many our own team is affected by this storm too. it won't be enough after a hurricane. >> reporter: pediatric facilities are admitting more patients than ever before. >> inside the power's flickering. i feel anxious. >> reporter: hospitals like children's hospital new orleans left to rely solely on emergency generators. >> the elevator shafts are literally shaking. as i go from unit to unit. so very loud. that's all wind. >> reporter: dr. ellie masumi and her husband muhammad, also a doctor, evacuated their three young children to atlanta. then they returned to take care of their patients. >> as we always do in new orleans, we will weather the storm, get through it and take can good care of these children. >> reporter: with louisiana's vaccination rate among the lowest in the country with only 41.4% vaccinated, the delta variant has driven the state into a fourth covid wave.

averaging 4,200 new cases and 63 deaths each day. louisiana is experiencing the second most cases per capita in the country. >> we worry about a covid surge. we worry about covid surges coming from our medical shelter. and so trying to mitigate all that at the same time is going to be -- it's going to be a team effort for sure. >> reporter: now the mass exodus of evacuating families and others forced from their homes into crowded shelters, triggering further concern of superspreader potential. but down here in the bayou even in the flood of water and emotion there is a particular kind of resilience. >> did you worry at one point you might not make it? >> yeah. i called and gave a message and words to tell my children i love them. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> we're in survival mode. we're coming out of this. we're coming out of this. i'm coming out of thisthisthists

♪ >> reporter: in the big easy these are troubled days. but if nothing else the music plays on. >> our thanks to matt. up next, reliving the "summer of soul." ♪ when i found out yesterday ♪ ♪ don't you know that i heard it through the grapevine ♪ ♪ oh, i heard it ♪ ♪ not much longer would you be mine ♪ ♪ not much longer ♪ messes can take more time than you have, but mr. clean clean freak delivers the power of a deep clean in minutes unlike bleach sprays, clean freak starts deep cleaning on contact with three times the cleaning power to break down tough messes in seconds it quickly cleans your home's toughest messes so, for a deep clean in minutes, get mr. clean clean freak available in easy to switch refills and now get the cleaning power of mr. clean in a wipe to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible

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[music] 'my own garden is my own garden,' said the giant, so he built a high wall all around it.

then one morning the giant heard some lovely music. through a little hole in the wall, the children had crept in. and the giant's heart melted... and they found the giant...all covered with blossoms. ♪ the summer of '69, a turbulent time in america. in many ways the culmination of the violence and protests of the

late '60s. almost lost in that chaotic time, the harlem cultural festival, featuring some of the biggest names in black music. it was a first of its kind experience, largely lost to history. until now. here's my until in the co-anchor byron pitts. ♪ it took me by surprise ♪ >> reporter: it was the summer of 1969. and something magical was happening deep in the heart of new york city. ♪ i heard it through the grapevine ♪ gladys knight and the pips mesmerizing the crowd with their live performance of "i heard it through the grapevine." ♪ >> the harlem cultural festival was this beautiful event. sly and the family stone, b.b. king, nina simone. >> are you ready, black people? are you ready? >> all types of artists. top acts of the day. gospel acts like mahalia jackson. all these key figures in black music came together. >> reporter: the breathtaking performances so beautifully documented in vivid color now featured in a hulu documentary, "summer of soul."

directed by amir thompson, otherwise known as questlove. >> sort of the impetus of the whole festival was the fact that when martin luther king was assassinated all of america, inner city america went up in flames with rioting. and not wanting a repeat performance of what happened, that made it easier for the city to okay the idea of having some sort of event that would keep people occupied during the weekend. >> the festival's main goal was to remind us of who we are. and the community that we'd managed to build in spite of everything this country has done to try to tear us down. >> reporter: the six-week festival showcased an astonishing group of performers. the likes of david ruffin of the temptations. ♪ i've got sunshine ♪ ♪ whoo, on a cloudy day ♪ a babyfaced 19-year-old stevie wonder. the chambers brothers.

♪ the pop-soul group the fifth dimension. ♪ this is the dawning of the age of aquarius ♪ ♪ the crowd who'd come to see those acts, 300,000 strong. >> as far as i could see it was just black people. it was incredible. >> reporter: but the footage of the festival lost to history, buried in the archives for 50 years. >> just sort of disposed of and forgotten about, not really written about or celebrated. >> reporter: until now. brought back to life by questlove. ♪ you taught me how ♪ >> you know, it's 50 years later and i still feel as though the material is potent and strong enough to still inspire people and touch them. >> reporter: that same summer 100 miles away another historc festival was taking place, one

that was said to have defined an age of music and history. woodstock. >> it was just very, very bautiful. all the people were together. >> reporter: with iconic performances from the who, carlos santana, and jimi hendrix. >> woodstock comes out and suddenly all the facts that were on the festival were household names. >> reporter: while woodstock was hailed as a pivotal moment in popular culture, the harlem cultural festival was practically forgotten. ♪ ♪ don't you hear me calling to you ♪ >> the true lesson that i've heard from all this is that the term black erasure is real and not an exaggeration. my purpose was to correct history. >> reporter: it happened during a critical new era for black america. a time when pain gave way to purpose, progress, and defiance. >> you are having a younger generation sort of like the second generation of the civil rights movement that's more vocal, more demanding for justice and equal rights, whereas now you're starting to

see the panthers have a different approach to it where they're even identifying themselves as black, they're protesting louder. >> reporter: the documentary examining how black culture and identity itself was changing. >> it's a revolution, style revolution. cultural revolution. >> we found that the african styles just suit us better. >> the hair was the biggest change. afros. >> the black communities always embraced our blackness. the difference is that we no longer hid it. >> reporter: and as america continues to grapple with its history of racism, looking back can be just as important as looking forward. ♪ and jupiter aligns with mars ♪ >> so many of these stories were simply denied or erased. this is an opportunity to pick up some of those pieces and put them in the books where they

belong. ♪ oh happen i why day ♪ >> i hope to at least plant the seeds that you use your voice when the spirit compels you to. and not to quiet your voice or to be neutral if you're afraid you're going to lose something in the process. i hope that's what people get from this. ♪ oh happy day ♪ ♪ oh happy day ♪ > our thanks to byron. up next, paying respects to the last american troops lost in afghanistan. cookies and breyers. that's like getting two desserts! wait... do we have to thank our moms twice? i don't know... (laughs) breyers. 100% grade a milk and cream, and loaded with delicious cookie pieces. better starts with breyers.

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they were the last to die in america's longest war. 11 marines, one army soldier, and a navy corpsman. and they came home this weekend. honored by a grieving nation. here's abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha radda raddatz. >> reporter: a solemn, heartbreaking day at dover air force base in delaware. the fallen include 11 marines, a navy hospital corpsman, and an army soldier. all of them so young. the country pausing to mourn, to

honor their sacrifice. marine lance corporal david espinoza, just 20 years old. marine sergeant nicole gee, 23 years old. days before her death she was featured in this photo, cradling an afghan baby at the kabul airport, writing on instagram, "i love my job." marine staff sergeant darin taylor hoover from salt lake city. at 31 the oldest. his father calling him one heck of a leader. army staff sergeant ryan knauss, 23. marine corporal hunter lopez, 22. marine lance corporal rylee mccollum, 20, of jackson, wyoming was just weeks away from becoming a father. marine lance corporal dylan merola, 20. marine lance corporal kareem nikoui, 20, from norco, california. his father saying he did not hesitate to be called to duty. marine corporal daegan william

tyler page, 23. marine sergeant johanny rosario pichardo, 25. marine corporal humberto sanchez, 22. marine lance corporal jared schmitz, 20. navy corpsman maxton soviak, 22, his father told a reporter that in the last facetime with their son his mother told him to be safe. he said, "don't worry, mom, my guys got me. they won't let anything happen to me." she now realizes that they all just went together. >> a grateful nation paying tribut it's another day. and anything could happen. it could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. or it could be the day there's a cyberthreat.