TAMPA, Fla — Clean-up efforts have begun in southeast Louisiana, which was pummeled Sunday evening by Hurricane Ida.
Crews of volunteers, electric line workers and neighborhood leaders are working together to pick up the pieces Ida left behind, but there's still much work that needs to be done as the city continues without power.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette posted on his Twitter account Monday that he is "putting up my own $100K for my city." The running back was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana before starting his college football career at Louisiana State University in 2017.
"I stayed on the bridge for four days during the storm," Fournette said.
The running back went into vivid detail about his childhood memories of Hurricane Katrina, sharing that his family had to "start over" following the 2005 natural disaster.
"We lived in a hotel and the water was rising, so we had nowhere else to go," Fournette added.
He's using those memories and doing his best to help get through to those who are facing similar circumstances in the devastation Hurricane Ida left behind 16 years later, to the date.
In a previous tweet, Fournette said "it's time to step up," calling on his more than 400,000 Twitter followers to support organizations in relief efforts to help people impacted by the storm.
Fournette says he is meeting with his teammates here in Tampa this week to see about extensive help for New Orleans.
Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane carrying whopping 150-mph force winds. Many were able to flee before the storm hit, but others had to stay put and ride out the storm.
At this time, millions of people are without power, and city officials say it could be weeks before full power is restored to the city of New Orleans.
Click here to find ways to help those in need.