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Louisiana, We’re Praying For You

via lousianahelicam.com

As the death toll rises to six and 20,000 more are rescued from their homes, their streets, their vehicles, I began to feel a twisted sense of deja-vu. The historic flooding in Louisiana, which is said to be caused by an unprecedented amount of rainfall, (more rain than L.A has seen in 3 years!)  began on Thursday and has already displaced thousands from their homes and has sent another 10,000 people to various shelters across the affected state. The National Guard and the U.S Coast Guard are attempting to salvage the unaccounted number of people that couldn’t make it out of the flood zones in time, from stranded motorists to people literally drowning in the roads. While they may not be able to locate each and every person in need, they are certainly doing their part to ensure that very few get left behind, and that is all we can ask for at this point.

Residents of the affected areas have fled their homes in search of higher and safer ground as the flooding continues to grow. The water has reached a point where walking outside is extremely dangerous and many opt for canoes and kayaks if venturing out is absolutely necessary.President Obama declared a major disaster on Sunday as the rain continued, and while the state did receive a bit of reprieve from the rain today, the flooding will not let up anytime soon. Louisiana Gov. John Edwards vows that the flooding “is certainly not over” yet and that the population should continue to take caution. With thousands of people still awaiting help in their homes and out on the streets, the natural disaster doesn’t appear to be over as they continue to fear for their lives. Some areas have received almost two feet of  rainfall since Thursday, with nearly waist-high water and entire neighborhoods that are submerged.

As for now, survivors and evacuees can only hope that the flooding will go down soon and that they will be able to return to their homes. Although, we can only hope that the flooding has left salvageable homes to return to; the government has prepared for many victims of the areas with the worst flooding to obtain grants for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as loans to cover uninsured property losses. These areas were highlighted in the president’s declaration of major disaster and they include East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa.

While a plan for returning to life after the flood was established, we can only hope that it will be executed in a way that benefits most if not all victims of this natural tragedy. After Hurricane Katrina, while we did see most survivors taken out of the state and moved to safer locations, we also saw some left behind with little and forced to rebuild on basically nothing. We can only hope that the survivors of the worst of the Louisiana flooding will have a life to return to once the flood water recedes and their normal life fades back into view. But for now, we can only pray for more awareness and more help for those that are still terrified in this time where fear and apprehension run lose.

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