User:Jonet~enwiki/Aftermath

Two of the most horrendous hurricanes have come b arging through our state of Louisiana in less than a month's time. For the third time in the weather history of the city of New Orleans, people's homes have been completely flooded, covered with smelly, gruesome, sewage looking slime. Personal belongings are now soaked through with flood waters that contained dangerous and deadly chemicals, along with snakes and other reptiles seeking safer and drier ground. The mind boggling terror of fires and gas explosions from broken gas lines and electrical wiring caused people to run toward places that seemed safer than their immediate conditions.

Throughout this entire ordeal of human misery caused by the forces of nature, human kindness and compassion has prevailed in many situations. For those families in which their entire lives and homes were destroyed in front of their eyes, there are hundreds of tenderhearted persons extending themselves to help these less fortunate victims to recapture and rebuild their lives and dignity.

Daily non-stop media coverage showed proof of this fact within days after the first hurricane Katrina hit the fragile coastline of Louisiana near New Orleans and its surrounding towns. Exceeding one hundred plus mile an hour winds and a frighteningly powerful storm surge wall, the hurricane repeatedly slammed into the very old, inadequate levees encircling New Orleans that provided little protection from this furious natural force. The devastaating winds and accompanying tornadoes terrified thousands of residents, convincing them to flee their homes with only the clothes on their backs and hurried stuffing of bags containg precious belongings in a losing race with the awesome strength of Mother Nature's fury. Entire families were separated through no fault of their own, but the survival instinct of mankind was evident in later stories of courage born from desperation. People, tired and battered, had to walk for miles in the intense heat after the hurricane without food or water, finally receiving help through the combined efforts of relief workers,volunteers, and military personnel. The volunteers manned round the clock help centers in quickly transformed school gyms, coliseums and even church halls. Once settled in these temporary emergency shelters, victims were provided with essentials for personal needs and made comfortable for the time being.

Unfortunately, the traumatic stresses of coping were soon intensified by another unbelievable approaching hurrican named Rita. Virtually picking up where hurricane Katrina left off, the monster hurricane Rita forced the remaining helpless people still cowering in the city's devastation of businesses, homes and any other semblance of normalcy in their lives, to pray and fight against the rising flood waters threatening to snuff out their lives within hours of landfall. These brave and determined souls tried desperately to hang onto floating pieces of debris, rooftops and eventually crawling into their attics to escape the devilish attacks of this second storm. Enclosed by howling winds, violent pelting rain, complete darkness and unimagined fear; men, women and children struggled to overcome the now hellish conditions of once normal daily lives.

Soon, the entire nation knew every minute detail on an hourly, daily basis coverage of the horrible events people had to endure. The National Guard, Red Cross and police personnel from several states around the country answered the pleas of the New Orleans mayor and Louisiana's governor for additional help with this major misfortune affecting our neighbors. People throughout Lafayette and nearby cities came to the immediate rescue with money, food, medical supplies and clothing, also volunteering their time and skills to alleviate some of the human suffering being witnessed.

As the mental anguish of the traumatic life experiences of the hurricane survivors began to slowly subside, organizations such as FEMA offered hope during the dismal darkness of despair to help evacuees pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. In response to their pressing needs, temporary housing within other states helped keep the insanity of the circumstances at bay with a return to semi-normal living conditions.

Discussions and conference meetings began to disclose future preparations on rebuilding the City of New Orleans and surrounding areas to bring back the heart and soul of this beloved area of Louisiana. Future plans to improve the structure and strength of the levees, for a most unusual and unique part of our culture will help bring the city back from the dead. Improvements for the re-development of the previous New Orleans city lifestyle may prove better than before and the closeness of the community through shared experiences will bring about the complete healing of this tragic event in the lives of everyone touched by the unforeseen and unforgettable disaster.

In the aftermath of these two hurricanes, the resilience of the people of Louisiana has once again become the cornerstone of human compassion for one another and being able to come through for the good of Louisiana's unique society and culture.