Hurricane Ida didn’t come too close to Frisco, staying about 500 miles away, but despite this distance, its impact is being felt on campus by a few students and staff.

After passing through Louisiana, Hurricane Ida has left a devastating mark, eliminating power throughout New Orleans and other parts of the state. Taking a toll on hundreds of thousands of Louisiana citizens and causing worry on campus for some students and staff, including New Orleans native, sophomore Trinity Blain. 

“I do have a lot of family, like on my dad’s side they live down there [in New Orleans] and I talked to them yesterday actually and they were trying to evacuate because they were trying to leave earlier, but my aunt had to work, so she couldn’t leave and had to stay there. My great-grandma didn’t want to leave her house so they just stayed there, and I haven’t talked to them since,” Blain said. “I’m worried for them because I’m not there, so I really don’t know what’s happening to them. I just hope everyone’s safe and that I still get to see them.”

Blain’s sister and fellow New Orleans native, senior Angel Simmons, fears to see a repeat of Hurricane Katrina’s effect on her family.

“I’m actually really concerned for [my family’s] safety because I have been looking at how the hurricane has progressed and it was just not looking good,” Simmons said. “My family was affected by Katrina when that came around, so I wouldn’t want them to have to start over again.”

For science teacher Richard Sabatier, Louisiana is his home state. However, even though Ida’s destruction isn’t something that happened where he used to live, it’s having a direct impact on his family, as his brother will be without power for days, and his mom’s house suffered some damage. But despite this, Sabatier has confidence in the resilience of his home state.

“Well I mean growing up there, [hurricanes] are something you get pretty used to. I mean Katrina came through when I was twelve, so it’s something you are exposed to a lot. I mean not everything’s Katrina, but for the most part it’s not overall worry, it’s more concern because people know what they’re doing, down there when it comes to hurricanes, we’re used to it, it’s nothing new, people evacuate if needed. It’s something that’s just part of life there,” Sabatier said. “Louisiana as a whole goes through a lot, a lot of poverty, a lot of other issues, our wetlands are disappearing, it just kinda builds up. It builds up that resilience, it builds up a tolerance for issues. Even though we go through so much and there’s so much that happens that’s bad, it’s such a celebratory palace, especially New Orleans.”