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Hurricane Katrina: Islamic Relief USA’s First Big U.S. Disaster Relief Effort.
When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, Elouise Kensey was traveling. Her home in New Orleans was destroyed, but she called herself lucky. “I have custody of my seven grandchildren, and had we stayed somebody would have died,” she told Islamic Relief workers after the storm. “A tree fell on the house. We were lucky, blessed , however you want to call it.” The Category 5 hurricane devastated large parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and its floodwaters surged right over and through the levees protecting New Orleans. More than 1,800 people were killed. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless, including Kensey and her family. Hurricane…