Destroying homes, business and power lines all over the state, Hurricane Katrina left the majority of Louisiana in ruins. On Aug. 23 2005, 1,833 people lost their lives to this natural disaster. Something extremely devastating to the community and families of victims. 

It took over 18 months to get Louisiana back together. Taking many years to completely rebuild the community to where it was originally.  

A little over 16 years later, on Sept. 4 2021, Hurricane Ida hit — making it the second deadliest hurricane Louisiana has experienced. Destroying the infustrure at nearly the same latitude as Katrina, taking over 109 lives as of Sept. 7 in the United States alone. 

Hurricane Ida was classified as a Category 4 Atlantic Hurricane, destroying peoples homes and leaving them without power for the last couple of weeks. While many evacuated in preparation for the storm, some decided to stay, leaving not only themselves worried, but their families as well. 

Some people in Austin were affected more than others by the storm, whether that means they have family in Louisiana, went to college there or are from there. 

After chatting with AP English III teacher Rachel Leader, she explained that she had family members who chose to stay in Louisiana while the Hurricane hit. Leading her to make the decision to take a day off from work in order to check in and make sure her family was okay and safe. The Hurricane could have severely affected and damaged her Family and their homes, something well worth the day off. 

While the death toll from Ida will not reach the enormous levels of Katrina, it has left parts of the country in ruins, which are not expected to be back to normal for months. 

Louisiana has offered state tax relief in order to help cities and towns repair the damage that has been created by the storm, in addition to sending people all over the country to the affected areas in order to help rebuild and repair the enormous losses. 

While our country is far from repairing 100 percent of the damage done from Ida, every action we take and all help counts to reach our end goal of rebuilding the communities lost. 

Even though Westlake was not directly hit by the Hurricane, members of our community are feeling the effect of the storm along with any losses they have experienced.

Westlake has organized a Hurricane Ida Relief Drive, where students are able to donate toiletries, towels/washcloths, blankets, pillows, feminine products, tissue packs, deodorant, and combs. When donating, place them in a bag with your lunch number and name. There are boxes located in the Chap Court, Commons, and NGC, all of which you can bring your donations to. 

Any and all donations help, even if they seem small.