Editor's Note: The story should have explained that UT geography senior Rachel Briles did not flee her home but drove through the hurricane evacuation route because she was returning to school in Austin.
As he evacuated Louisiana along with thousands of others Saturday, UT law student Iain Kennedy felt like he was moving in a dream instead of running from a Category 4 hurricane.
"It was surreal," said Kennedy, a New Orleans native. "You see all these people driving, traffic's kind of stop and go. There were hour-and-a-half-long stops in traffic, and then there's people taking their dogs out and walking them around."
Kennedy, his grandparents and younger brother were able to escape New Orleans to Baton Rouge before the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, which pounded the Gulf early Monday with winds of 135 mph and destroyed thousands of homes along the coast. Most of New Orleans was completely flooded and miles of coastlines in Mississippi and Alabama were wiped out.
But as swiftly as Hurricane Katrina destroyed, numerous organizations throughout Texas are attempting to rebuild. Dozens of state agencies have organized relief programs and groups to aid those affected by the storm. The State Operations Center is coordinating efforts, mainly focused on evacuees who have come to Texas. Meanwhile, charities and religious groups in Austin are not sitting idly by. A volunteer group from the organization Mobile Loaves & Fishes will travel to New Orleans today bearing supplies, equipment and food.
"We'll be feeding about 2,000 people, probably help clear away brush and debris. We'll give them 72 hours or so just to do our little part," said Alan Graham, founder of the organization.
Katy Hebel, a business honors senior and president of the University's American Red Cross Club, said the club has already started working on relief for those affected by Katrina.
"They have called out volunteers to set up tents, put in data for caseworkers and go to the hurricane sites themselves," said Hebel, who added that the Red Cross Club would be working for an on-campus fundraiser in the near future.
Besides Kennedy, geography senior Rachel Briles also drove through the hurricane evacuation route on her way to Austin last weekend with her family.
"There was nowhere to sleep; all the hotels on the highways were full," said Briles. "We had to take turns sleeping and driving."
Her mother stayed behind to board up the house, but Briles said Birmingham was mostly spared from Katrina's destructive force.
Kennedy, his grandparents and younger brother sought shelter at his parents' home in Baton Rouge, where flooding was less of a threat. But they spent Sunday night through estimated 75 mph winds and still woke to destruction.
"There were trees down all over our yard, power lines snapped on the road," Kennedy said. "It was just a mess."
For those directly affected by the hurricane, waiting for aid is the hardest part.
"I'm just praying for the people still stuck there, watching them climb onto their rooftops," Kennedy said. He said now that he's back in Austin he continues to watch the news for updates on New Orleans.
Despite the storm wreckage, Kennedy said his family isn't concerned about the material possessions left behind.
"All that's replaceable," he said. "We were thinking of just getting out and getting out alive."
To volunteer or donate for Hurricane Katrina relief
American Red Cross Club at UT: http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/redcross/
American Red Cross of Central Texas Chapter: (512) 928-4271, http://www.centex.redcross.org/
Mobile Loaves & Fishes: http://www.mlfnow.org
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