Countdown on the hurricane season

In Louisiana, where Hurricane Katrina is permanently emblazoned on the mind of all who survived its devastation, all eyes have been keenly on Hurricane Irma’s path.

Although it’s likely this category 5 storm with its 180 mph plus winds will veer across Florida and go east, the threat of this busy hurricane season is hardly over.

We are indeed in the season countdown and the bad news is it doesn’t end until Nov. 30 for the North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

The danger is still lurking in the Gulf.

Hopefully, the seasonal cool fronts that have fended off storms from Louisiana are coming.

In the meantime, our prayers remain with the people of Texas who are already dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, as well as those already impacted by Hurricane Irma.

Preparing for the storm – any storm – seems the only real alternative to this year’s storm season.

St. Charles Parish has certainly done its share of flood fighting, which substantially fended off the rising waters of Hurricane Harvey.

An estimated six residences flooded in the area, but the number is miniscule compared to the Texans who fled as wind and water overtook their communities.

In an exodus of biblical proportion, they took to the streets with their few belongings and loved ones, including their babies and pets.

Louisianans, who still so vividly remember the hardships of Katrina, rose to the call and rushed over to help rescue the ones who couldn’t leave. Parish relief efforts are underway to provide them with food, water and supplies.

We remember what it feels to need help in a disaster and, most importantly, we didn’t forget.

People helping people is making the difference no matter how catastrophic the loss.

Texas, like Louisiana, will take a long time to recover and some things may change forever.

But, hopefully, how the people of Louisiana pay it forward to Texas, even 12 years after Katrina ripped though the Gulf Coast, reminds us all that we can survive before and after the storm if we do the right thing.