It is difficult to believe 5 years have passed since hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

Sad, yet true, if one travels to states hit hardest by Katrina, devastation is still evident and the recovery is truly not a full  recovery.

As a nature photographer, I have witness violent storms in the past 25  years. The visual images that tend to be embedded in people’s minds when it comes to powerful storms are massive waves slapping the shoreline violently, boats on land, houses reduced to splinters of wood, and trees blowing in the wind about to snap like a celery stick. Yet, it is the human suffering that must be remembered and the suffering of all creatures great and small.  Think of the people trapped on rooftops and bridges calling for help. Visualize the colony of pelicans completely coated in oil–unable to fly. Many civic, religious, and humanitarian agencies are still collecting resources for the victims of hurricane Katrina and working to rebuild the Gulf Coast after its many disasters.

Whether it be earthquakes in Haiti, China, or South America, the flooding in Pakistan, or natural or man made disasters here in our own backyard, these catastrophic events displace people, harm animals, change places forever, and cause disruption to the  things we love and cherish.  When your learn of relief efforts that work to aid those directly effected by natural and mandate disasters, kindly consider reaching out in ways you see fit to assist.

Brendan Ben Feeney