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When Hurricane Ida hit the southern United States, many citizens evacuated to remain safe. However, animals have no idea what evacuating is! That’s why some Good Samaritans banned together to rescue more than 60 cows from the hurricane!
Rescuing Cattle After Hurricane Ida
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Unfortunately, Hurricane Ida hit many southern states, most notably Louisiana, incredibly hard. It took homes, property, and the lives of both people and animals. That’s precisely why cowboys from Louisiana decided to be good Samaritans and help evacuate all the cattle they could. Using the airboats, the cowboys created a cattle drive to help save the farm animals! “We got about 300 head of cattle… out here that we couldn’t get out from the back pastures in time before the storm came in, being that it was a quickly developing storm,” lead volunteer Derek Billiot said.
As Ida approached, Billiot didn’t think that he would be able to transport all the cattle. However, as he saw most of the Louisiana natives evacuate just in time, Billiot felt confident he could help as many cows as possible. Soon enough, he and his team were helping the animals in need! Of course, many of the cows had no idea why they needed to move. In fact, the laziest and most exhausted of them wouldn’t cooperate at all! Still, Billiot and his men didn’t plan on leaving anyone behind. Although they butted, mooed, and tried to lie down, they moved the cattle away from the hurricane!
Even after Hurricane Ida hit, Billiot and his team did not give up. They spread across the Louisiana coast, looking for animals. Many of them were wandering hopelessly or stuck in mud and debris. While it would be nice to just talk the cows into moving, the team often needed to rope them and drag them by force. However, Billiot the cows are fine afterward and doesn’t mind the physical pain. “Welcome to south Louisiana,” he laughed while saying. “Real rodeoing.”
But there’s still a lot of work left to do…
“Do Not Return”
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While Derek Billiot saved many cows, there’s still a lot of work to be done in Louisiana. In fact, Gov. John Bel Edwards couldn’t set a proper timeline for the state recovery. “Many of the life-supporting infrastructure elements are not present, they’re not operating right now,” Mr. Edwards said during a conference. “So if you have already evacuated, do not return.”
As of this writing, more than five deaths have been announced as a result of the storm. Resources are being transported to citizens as quickly as possible, but it will take a long time to restore all the power. “We know it’s hot; we know we don’t have any power,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrel said. The power company responsible for the electricity, Entergy, has no idea when it’ll be restored. “We are not even there yet to tell you what day” the lights would light up the citizens’ windows again, the mayor stated.
Thankfully, you can help the victims of Hurricane Ida right now. Simply head over to the American Red Cross website and donate.
