The Environmental Science Club has been holding fundraisers in order to raise money for victims of the recent hurricanes. The club raised money for the victims of those affected in the Caribbean by the recent hurricanes, such as Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey. Members from the club set up a booth at the student entrance for two days last week to try and raise money. Donations were asked to be $20 each, but anything was accepted.

The hurricane tore through the Caribbean Islands, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, with wind speeds of almost 160 miles per hour. The devastation caused in the Caribbean could be compared to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.

Officials have called for unity and to rebuild after the disaster.

“This is not time to mourn, but to build again that which the winds of Irma attempted to destroy,” Cuban President Raul Castro said.

The category five storm caused flooding and knocked trees to the ground. Buildings lost roofs due to the intense wind, that is if the building hadn’t already been swept away by a mix of the winds and flooding. Looting soon began as homeowners sought shelter from the storm. In Cuba, floodwaters were up to five feet high, with waves from the storm as high as 20 feet. In the city of Santa Clara, 39 buildings had collapsed due to the storm.

In Puerto Rico, electricity and water wasn’t available to most citizens and there was barely any cell reception. Power companies in the area claim that some residents won’t regain power for four to six months. The white house declared the island a major disaster zone and ordered federal assistance to the island, which has a territorial and commonwealth relation to the U.S.A. Up to 80 percent of the island’s crops were wiped out by the storm, this will result in a $780 million devastation to the economy. Hurricane Irma is the strongest ever recorded storm in the Atlantic Ocean.

Donations that the environmental science club has raised will go to help those hurt in the Caribbean Islands. Supplies, such as food and generators, and volunteers will be sent with the donations that were given.