Hurricane helpers

In the past three months, many people have been affected by natural disasters. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, Katia, Maria, Nate, and Ophelia formed in the Atlantic. They caused damage in parts of North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the British Isles. There were also earthquakes in central Mexico and wildfires in Northern California.

We invited you to send messages about the natural disasters, and we got an amazing response. We received more than 28,000 student messages! Some of you told us about your experiences. Others had kind words of encouragement. Some of these messages are posted here. We want to thank all of you for taking part in Hurricane Heroes. Your words have surely brought comfort to many.

November 21, 2017

We asked you to send messages about the natural disasters. We received thousands, in both English and Spanish. We have posted some of them below, in the languages in which you wrote them.

I hope you can recover and rebuild quickly. I live in Louisiana and have been through many major storms. Betsy, Camille, Andrew, and Katrina are just a few. There is no way to really prepare yourself for such a disaster. There is so much devastation, it is hard to comprehend or explain how hard it is. I wish there was no such thing as a hurricane and that you wouldn't have had to go through such a hard time. I hope your life returns to "normal" very soon.

 They are also sending rescuers to making sure that people who live in the path of the flames are safely out of their homes.

Credit for photo and all related images: AP/Dominic Foppoli

Fires have destroyed many homes and businesses in California.

October 10, 2017

On October 5, Tropical Storm Nate formed off the coast of Central America. The storm moved northward, bringing heavy rain and dangerous flooding to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes. Moving over water, Nate strengthened into a hurricane and took aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast. It hit Louisiana on October 7 and came ashore a second time on October 8, this time in Mississippi. Nate caused some flooding, but officials reported that damage was fairly minor. This same area experienced major damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now, the coast is better prepared for hurricanes. 

"If [Nate had] hit us 15 years ago, the damage would have been extensive and we would have had loss of life," said Lee Smithson, director of the emergency management agency in Mississippi. "But we have rebuilt the coast in the aftermath of Katrina higher and stronger."

Credit for photo and all related images: AP/Moises Castillo

People walk past a washed-out road in Costa Rica, one of the countries affected by Tropical Storm Nate.

October 5, 2017

We asked you to send messages about the hurricanes. We received thousands, in both English and Spanish. We have posted some of them below, in the languages in which you wrote them.

When I heard that Irma was headed to Florida, I got a bit scared 'cause the news reporters said that the hurricane was a Category 5, which is the highest a hurricane can go. Irma hit Florida. Our house was damaged a bit, and a tree branch could've broken my window, but the good thing is we put wood planks on every window to sponge the damage. The best thing is that my family was all fine. Many neighbors had more damaged homes, and me and my family would go help them. Well, wherever Irma hit too, I hope you guys are all fine and nothing happened to your family. And I hope you keep doing well.

What I did was after the hurricane, I helped 10 people with their yards because their back doors were blocking the back and broke a window, so we helped some people rebuild their homes and drove them to a school shelter.....

I was a victim of Hurricane Irma, and I want to tell my story. On the night that Irma hit Jacksonville, my family's power went out. We played board games, and did other stuff until it was time for bed. Me and my sister had slept through the worst of the storm, but it was still going when we woke up. I was extremely worried. Nothing like this had ever happened before (at least to me). I was worried about my house, my pets, my friends, and my family. We ended up evacuating to my grandma's house, which had a generator and was not affected by the storm at all. The next day, my parents went back to the house to see if it was okay. Despite the fact that I live two blocks from a river, our house didn't flood at all. And when they turned the breaker back on, the power was back! So in the end, it turned out all right. But my heart does go out to the people who weren't so lucky. Stay strong!

I live in Sarasota, Florida, and the moments leading up to Irma were awful. We were all so scared, and every day it seemed to get worse and worse for us, so we packed our bags, prepared for the worst, and moved to a shelter. When my family and I got there we waited in a line for hours, and when we finally got in it was overcrowded and filled with grumpy people. Within the first 30 minutes of being in the shelter we were robbed (not by very much though—all they took was a granola bar). I thought we were going to be in the eye wall of a Category 4 so I texted my all of my friends to say goodbye, took pictures of my home and cried for a while. Luckily by the time Irma hit where my family and I were located it was only a 1. The moral of the story is no matter how hard or scary things get remember to stay positive as you can and remember things could all turn out fine. My heart goes out to everyone who was affected by this hurricane.

Hi, I was hit by Hurricane Irma in Florida. It was bad, but I made it. There were trees all over the place, fences all down on the ground, cars were totaled, flooding. It was a crazy mess. I also had family in the Virgin Islands, where I am from. They had it bad. Florida didn't get hit like the Islands did. We need to come together and help each other out. I feel so bad for Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit, but there were a lot of people who helped, like Beyoncé and other celebrities, who helped out. In Houston, for example, the foundations raised over $44 million because of people's help. We don't need to only come together and help when there's a natural disaster. We need to help each other out all the time. No matter what skin color you are, we all bleed red and all have the same organs. It doesn't matter who you are. Help out any way you can.

When Hurricane Irma came to Florida, I heard the wind howling, and it sounded very frightening. It was strong that some trees fell, houses were destroyed, and cables were disconnected. It also brought widespread flooding, especially to those places near the coast. To those who were affected by the recent hurricanes, I hope you're safe, and stay strong. Soon everything will be back to normal. Let us help each other.

I have never been in any natural disaster, but I have experienced pain—both physical, like a yellow jacket sting or dry ice to my bare skin, and emotional, like the death of a very close pet. I know that it never truly fades. But now I am in the fifth grade, life has gone on. Those of you hit by hurricanes are in serious pain and have been very brave. They say, "It's okay" but it isn't. You aren't okay at all, but you can face the hurricane. You can fight with all you've got to rebuild your homes and remember that life will go on.

The hurricane must have lost hundreds of things except hope.

I hope everyone affected by these storms can rebuild their homes and go back to their old lives soon. I can't imagine how scary it must be for all those who live in the Caribbean, Texas, and Florida. I hope everyone was able to evacuate their homes and stay safe.

It's OK. My mom told me that wherever your heart is is your home.

I'm 10 years old. I'd like to say floods can wash away houses and people, but they cannot take memories of those in your heart. Hope you have a great life. Blessings to you…

I live in Tennessee. I have a lot of family and friends who were recently hit by Hurricane Irma in Florida. My grandpa and grandma said that the A.C. is not working, and therefore it is very hot in their house. There's no electricity, so they have to light candles. They have no phone reception, and try to use their phone as little as possible because there's no way to charge it at the moment. They stocked up on food and are stuck in their house for a while because it flooded up to the bottom of their door. They boarded up their windows. They said, "We are so blessed to have another day."

I hope that everybody that evacuated can go back home to an actual home. I also hope that whatever people left behind didn't get destroyed. During the hurricane, my mom and I went to go and volunteer for four hours. I fed over 700 people that day. It was hard work, and it was tiring. But I did it, and when I was done I felt really proud of myself. I made over 1,000 plates for the sheltered.

Have hope. You're not alone. I've been through a day of storms, a day where there was no light. All blacked out, cold, and windy. Hearing the sound of a tornado ripping the siren off the ground. Riding the bus home in the howling angry wind, waking and sleeping to the sound of the wind. There is always help. You will find that out and know why this is the greatest country.

I admire all the volunteers who sacrifice their time to help the damage that has been done. Yes the people are survivors, but more important, champions. They are overcoming great disaster and are going to have to rebuild their lives all over again. The children are warriors. Being young, it will be hard to understand why is this happening, but you are breaking barriers for a stronger generation. Some are still even in school. Knowing that school is a number one priority shows strength and determination.

Sé que están pasando por un momento terrible, pero tienen que hacer un esfuerzo para salir adelante. Yo pasé por lo mismo y miren, aquí estoy saliendo adelante con mi familia.

Dios los bendiga, espero que estén bien todas las familias que sufrieron este desastre. Los quiero.

Hace tres años que dejé Miami y siento mucha empatía con los afectados por el huracán Irma, así como con los del huracán Harvey, que ocurrió en Houston (Texas), pues tengo familiares en ambos estados. Además, he experimentado en carne propia los huracanes, la falta de luz eléctrica, la desesperación por la falta de alimentos, de trabajo y para empezar nuevamente la vida cotidiana. Tan solo puedo pedirle a Dios que les de fuerzas para continuar y no desesperarse, pues todo lo material se recuperará. La vida es lo que cuenta.

Espero que muy pronto puedan seguir con sus vidas como antes. Soy boricua al igual que ustedes, y me siento muy mal y comparto mis sentimientos con ustedes, en verdad. Sé cómo está Puerto Rico porque tengo familia allá.

Que les vaya muy bien y que Dios los ayude. Voy a rezar por ustedes para que sean felices para siempre.

En primer lugar, saludos a todos y espero que terminen estos huracanes que nos han afectado a todos nosotros, las personas que estamos luchando por una vida mejor y que día a día vamos superando todos los problemas que se nos presentan. Espero que no duden de nada porque Dios siempre está con nosotros. Estas son cosas de la naturaleza que pasarán cuando menos lo esperamos, y nadie le desea el mal a otro ser humano, pero no debemos rendirnos y debemos seguir adelante. No importa cuántas veces tropecemos, debemos levantarnos porque cada día es un día nuevo. Lo pasado es pasado y ya no regresará, así que ánimos y no pierdan la fe que el Todopoderoso está con cada uno de nosotros.

La escuela William Anderson está enviando botellas de agua a Houston (Texas), para las víctimas del huracán Harvey. Por gracia de Dios, todo estará bien.

Soy una de las afectadas por el huracán Irma. El día que sucedió el huracán estaba en Puerto Rico de vacaciones con mi papá y familia, porque yo soy de Puerto Rico. Unos días antes de que pasara el huracán me iba para Rochester (Nueva York), pero no pude ir porque cerraron el aeropuerto y cancelaron los vuelos. El día del huracán estaba en casa de mi abuela, por lo que resulté afectada por el huracán, y estaba muy asustada.

Si fueron afectados por cualquier huracán, no se preocupen. Dios los va a ayudar a levantarse de nuevo. Él siempre está con nosotros y nunca nos dejará. Espero que puedan regresar a la normalidad muy pronto.

Me gustaría decirles que se mantengan fuertes, aunque no sea fácil. Luchen por sus vidas porque muchas personas las han perdido a causa de los huracanes.

Credit for photo and all related images: Carlos Giusti/AP

As Hurricane Maria moved through Puerto Rico, this woman and her child stayed safe at a shelter.