Before Hurricane Ida touched down in Louisiana on Aug. 29, I had been persistently texting family members in New Orleans to ask who was staying and who was evacuating. Two of my cousins and their children drove to Natchez, Mississippi, and then left for Texas. Most of my relatives chose to remain and hunker down as Ida's heavy rainfall and 150 mph winds approached. As one cousin humorously texted, "The elderly toddlers wanted to stay." I will definitely tease her mother about this comical remark, and I was relieved to receive a text a few days later from another cousin informing me that she was safe in her home. The extremely hot temperatures, power outages and access to food are major obstacles right now, but I'm grateful to God that my family has survived yet another devastating storm that battered the Gulf Coast.

It seemed a bit haunting that Ida slammed Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina pounding the state. Natchez was the sanctuary for my NOLA family back then as most fled Katrina's destructive path. I believe they all had a gut feeling when Katrina was looming that the levees were not going to hold up, and they escaped the flooding that covered 80% of New Orleans. When I flew to New Orleans for my paternal grandmother's 91st birthday party a year after Katrina hit, a cousin drove me through some of the city's most devastated quarters. I remember seeing houses uprooted from their foundations in a nearly abandoned neighborhood in the Lower Ninth Ward. The sight was still quite terrifying, and my cousin's daughter, who was eight years old, began to cry. Although Louisiana was much better prepared for Ida with a strengthened levee system, the levee project for LaPlace, located in St. John the Baptist Parish, was not completed. This resulted in hundreds of residents being trapped by deep floodwaters. LaPlace is only a half hour away from Metairie, where I recently stayed in June while attending my father's funeral. I had reservations for the Marriott on North Causeway Boulevard and my mother and I enjoyed the beautiful window view of Lake Pontchartrain from our room, but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about how horrific this scene has been during a powerful storm. However, those who were able to find lodging at this Marriott and other hotels in the wake of Ida's wrath were blessed to have some temporary shelter from flooded homes.

As Ida has now subsided, the remnants of its destruction still appear somewhat Katrinalike as millions in Louisiana and Mississippi remain without electricity. We are still seeing boat rescues on the news by the Louisiana National Guard. But as recovery from the aftermath of Ida begins, there is the daunting challenge the pandemic presents. The sweltering heat and displacement of thousands in New Orleans alone will more than likely result in surging COVID-19 cases. While all of this is very concerning, I am hoping that there will be considerably fewer numbers of people who feel abandoned as opposed to what happened in 2005. One of the most poignant memories I have of Katrina is the overwhelming feeling of despondency in New Orleans. People felt forgotten by the state and the nation, especially those who were too poor to evacuate. Those in poverty are still the most vulnerable as they frantically wait for supplies and resources to arrive after surviving Ida. Yet, I did see an inspiring news clip from 4WWL in Algiers, located in New Orleans' 15th Ward. A council member organized a food drive for 2,000 meals and set up a site for people to charge their phones. The lines were extremely long and the weariness on faces was evident, but as those who were interviewed expressed their anguish to the reporters, there also seemed to be a huge sense of relief that they finally received the aid they desperately needed. This food drive was held just three days after Ida's rampage. Help didn't come this quickly after Katrina. It appears that rescue efforts will be different this time in Louisiana, and by the grace of God, more lives will be saved.

Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: 12019 at Pixabay