Being a resident of Louisiana for the past fifteen years, hurricanes have been nothing new to me. My family and I, fortunately, knew how to prepare and completed our usual routine. We stocked up on gas, food, water, and pet food. However, Hurricane Ida and the repercussions for the entire region is an experience that I will never forget. This eerie hurricane felt different. It impacted our communities and myself in many unique ways compared to what I have experienced before. The week before the hurricane hit, many residents, including myself, decided to stay since the severity did not appear drastic. Yet, we were strongly mistaken. This hurricane was worse than what I expected. The closest experience that I could relate to Hurricane Ida was when I experienced my first hurricane as a child, Hurricane Katrina.
Throughout this experience, I learned that the state of Louisiana and our local communities are more resilient and unified than I expected. Being without any electricity, no internet, and no cellular service, we were blind to any outside communication. Hurricane Ida caused eight trees to collapse over our only road that allowed access into and out of our small neighborhood. The morning after, My Dad and I and several of my neighbors started the clean-up process. We chain sawed the fallen trees and removed the obstacles to allow cars to get by. Afterwards, we went from house to house and helped remove major trees and debris from neighbor's yards. Our family, friends, and neighbors had been so willing to spare supplies such as gas and water which were valued as gold during this time. This event helped me realize how generous, unselfish, and hardworking people can be in such a desperate time.
Additionally, our family decided to shelter two undergraduate freshmen from Tulane University during this hurricane. They had just moved into their dorms and had to rapidly evacuate within their first week of school. They were both from out of state and had never experienced a hurricane before. By hosting and caring for these two, I was able to understand the perspective from a non-local who has never witnessed how powerful and destructive a hurricane can be. They were in awe of the damage we woke up too. After bringing them back to campus to evacuate to Houston, they expressed infinite thanks and appreciation to my family. This filled me with immense gratitude. A genuine feeling was placed in my heart knowing that I could help reconcile family, friends, neighbors, and locals during a tragedy.
-Alex Hollander
September Service Hours: 0
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