Last week the state of Louisiana experienced historic flooding and devastation. If the word "historic" doesn't set in think about it like this. Watson Louisiana has 27,000 residents and 20,000 of them have been displaced without homes. My Mom is from Denham Springs, Louisiana which was 90 percent underwater. Louisiana had 6,900,000,000,000 gallons of rainfall in that one single week which is enough to fill 10.4 million Olympic size swimming pools. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 rang in at one of the costliest US floods at 16.3 million. This flood in Louisiana comes in at a shocking 30 million dollars. 20,000 people and 1,000 pets had to be rescued, just think about that number. Majority of the people affected by this flood did not have flood insurance because they were not in a flood zone. Yet even with all of these horrible facts, this flood is now being called "The Forgotten Flood."

I'm originally from Louisiana so it was extremely difficult for me and my family to have to watch the devastation on the news and not be able to help. Most of our family and friends live in either Baton Rouge or Denham Springs. The lack of national news coverage towards the beginning was awful and I just didn't understand how something so serious could just be overlooked. Over 100,000 people lost literally everything. I kept imagining losing my house, my belongings and everything I ever worked for. Housing is limited and hotels are booked which has left thousands in shelters. People were being rescued left and right and through social media I read hundreds of post about people searching for their loved ones and begging for help. Every time I turned on the TV they would briefly mention Louisiana and then move onto the Olympics. Ryan Lochte has gotten more news coverage than the flood that has devastated hundreds of thousands. The first time I really started to see the news start talking about the fact that Louisiana needed help and airing the devastation live was when Donald Trump showed up. I'm not going to get into a big political spill because I know everyone has their own opinions of why he showed up but regardless, he showed up. People saw a bit of hope in the fact that maybe now people will start sending some help now that they know how serious it is. Governor Jon Bell Edwards stated that one of the reasons the flood has flown under the radar is because of not having a catchy name.

Something that has stood out to me throughout this whole event is that the people of Louisiana love Louisiana and everyone in it. My whole life I've never really been able to describe to people the love that these people have for their state. The people of Louisiana are truly the kindest people who know how to have a good time. When you walk around a tailgate before an LSU game people you don't know will stop you and tell you to fix a plate and nothing will compare to an entire stadium singing Calling Baton Rouge together. No matter where you go people are happy and dancing and just loving life and I've always really appreciated that.

The entire state has banded together to help those affected by the flood. People who lost their homes were getting in boats going out to rescue others. FaceBook was the easiest way for people to communicate because of the lack of service. I saw hundreds of posts where people were reaching out for help from neighbors or anyone could get there by boat. We could not get up with our family friends for two days because they lost cell connection and were stranded in their house. My family posted a post asking if anyone could help out and I was shocked by the immediate responses from strangers asking for their address to save them by boat. The Cajun Navy is a group of people who formed during Hurricane Katrina and they started back up to save those this past week. These people are volunteers who go out and rescue people who are trapped in their homes or seeking shelter. They also travelled by boats and deliver food, gatorade and other necessities to people in need.

The Cajun Navy going to help those who need rescuing.

During this devastating time I have never been more proud to say that I am from Louisiana. I can't say I was shocked to see everyone helping each other because that's just what they do. I have friends in Louisiana who are living together in one house and although many have lost their homes, businesses, cars and belongings they still have a smile on their face. Please continue sending whatever you can to Louisiana because every single thing, big or small will help.

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