Two hurricanes strike the south

The world is already hectic and stressed out from the COVID 19 pandemic, and citizens from Louisiana, Texas, and other areas around there now have an added stressor. Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana on Thursday, August 27th. It started off as a category 4 hurricane in Texas that morning, and slowed down to a category II (tropical storm) early the next day in Louisiana. A category IV hurricane is the second to worst level of hurricane speeds, this means that the  maximum of 130 to 156mph winds, according to the article, What do hurricane categories mean?, in TIME magazine. Meaning the hurricane is bound to cause extreme damage to buildings, power lines, trees, and more. Already on Thursday evening, about 616,000 residents lost their power; about 568,000 of those residents lived in Texas and Louisiana, according to Entergy.com. Residents have been left without power for weeks, possibly months, due to the need for rebuilding. Not only did Hurricane Laura cause tons of people to lose their power, so did Hurricane Sally, which struck Wednesday, Sept. 16th, drenching Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi 30 plus inches of rain, stated CNN. Hurricane Sally was a Category II hurricane, which is less than Hurricane Laura, but the effects were almost worse, or just as bad as Hurricane Laura. 

Not only are these citizens devastated with power outages, but there is also extreme flooding, injuries, and death on the rise. Sadly, the State of Louisiana has reported 25 deaths from the hurricane, as seen in the article Hurricane Laura death toll in Louisiana rises to 25 by ABC news, but since then has rose to 26. Houses had their roofs and sidings ripped off and fallen trees were scattered around, flooding has made it impossible for some people to leave their homes, while others have been left homeless due to the damage done. Some people even left homeless due to the damage done. This would be devastating no matter what, but right now it is extra difficult for everyone; due to the epidemic, more limitations are placed and anyone who was injured by the hurricane risks possible exposure to the virus when treated in hospitals. There are also concerns of the virus having an outbreak due to the evacuations for people to stay out of Hurricane Laura’s path.  One of the biggest hits that hospitals took due to the hurricane is the lack of water, and the possibility to not have the proper utilities to help take care of patients, as explained in the article, How hospitals with Hurricane Laura- and COVID 19. 

All in all, people can help those in areas affected by Hurricane Laura by texting “LAURA” to 90999, call 800-RED-CROSS, or by going to the website American Red Cross, which people can make $10  donations to assist  Red Cross in responding to the people in need.