They wanted to be more safe than sorry. Three years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and other southern communities, national emergency services, government officials and law enforcement aimed to be well prepared as Hurricane Gustav touched down in the south this week.

While Gustav has turned out to be a weaker storm than Katrina, most of New Orleans was still evacuated, a smart move after 2005’s Katrina was the costliest hurricane in United States history.

Austin may be 1,100 miles away from New Orleans, but a little bit of the hurricane season came to us this week as an evacuee from the Golf Coast fled to this area to stay with family members.

The man hails from Baton Rouge, La. and contacted the local chapter of the Red Cross to see what services might be available.

The local ties don’t stop there.

As reported by herald staff this week, Aaron Stewart, emergency services coordinator for the Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross, said Mower County volunteers have traveled to the hurricane region to give aid.

Stewart also said that organizations such as the Salvation Army are collecting items the evacuees and victims need, while the Mower County Red Cross chapter will accept cash donations to help defray expenses during the emergency.

When a hurricane is 1,000 miles away, it’s easy to think about it once or twice, maybe watch the news reports or read the paper and then move on. But we are fortunate to have volunteers here who are willing to assist in the efforts, helping not only ones who stayed in the south, but also ones who fled here. While the Red Cross and Salvation Army do their part, we also need to do ours by volunteering our time or donating items or funds whenever possible.