Hurricane Laura, a Category Four storm that hit the southeastern coast of the U.S. on Aug. 20, deprived many people of basic necessities. People came back to damaged homes and businesses, broken power lines, and broken water pipelines. As of Thursday, Sept. 10, more than 280,000 people did not have access to clean drinking water in Southwest Louisiana.

“[Our family] made a trip back home to Lake Charles on Tuesday,” Kayla ONeal said. “It’s been so hard to be away from home but I think seeing some of our girl’s favorite places destroyed helped them to understand why it’s best they are where they are. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that this is only temporary and we are going to come out on the other side of this better and stronger.”

According to the Insurance Industry Blog, the economic loss was around $8 billion to $13 billion. Over 100,000 homes and businesses have still been left without electricity and access to clean drinking water. Over 10,000 evacuees are still left scattered throughout parts of Louisiana. The death toll in Louisiana currently stands at 28 and the death toll in Texas is at eight. According to President and CEO  Phillip May of Entergy Louisiana, it will take weeks before the company’s electrical system will go back to normal. Thousands of high capacity transmission structures, poles, transformers, and distribution wire have been knocked over and broken.

“It’s not a restoration, it’s literally a rebuild of our system,” Mr. May said in a press release. “The costs for the restoration will undoubtedly lead to an increase of the power bill for Entergy’s customers throughout the state.”

On Aug. 29, Rikesh Patel, the owner of several McDonald’s franchises in Louisiana, made a call to corporate requesting food trucks to deliver aid to the storm victims. Within 24 hours, trucks arrived in Lake Charles and Kentucky. Within six days, Mr. Patel and his employees served over 10,000 bags of warm food containing cheeseburgers, fries, and bottled water.

“Pictures don’t do it justice,” Mr. Patel said in an interview with CNN. “It’s so much worse than what you’re seeing on social media. It was just really neat to see the whole family aspect, of how we’ve always said we’re like a family and it just really came to life during such a tragedy.”

On Sept. 6, volunteers from Trinity Baptist Church served warm, cooked meals to families affected by the hurricane in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Within lunch hour, the church served over 1,000 lunches. The church also created a Hurricane Laura relief fund to provide additional care to those affected.

“The devastation is overwhelming,” Noelle Mills of Trinity Baptist Church said. “I’ve traveled through just about every stage of grief and I know it will only continue. It will take time, restoration always does. I couldn’t be prouder of our church and how hard everyone worked to pass out meals.” 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released $30 million in aid, with a maximum payout of $35,000 per applicant. The Red Cross is providing $450 to households that suffered any house damages. Many local authorities urge residents not to return home as there are few operating grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies.