As Hurricane Katrina ravages through Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, University students from those areas must deal with the threatening situation miles from their homes and families.

“I feel really mixed up inside,” said Rastan Boroujerdi, senior in Engineering. “I’m so worried about them and I need to focus on my schoolwork, but it’s kind of hard to focus when I know my family is in danger.”

Boroujerdi, from Slidell, La., is one of those students distanced from home as Hurricane Katrina devastates the area around his hometown. Family members have evacuated to Mississippi, but their exact location is unknown, and Boroujerdi hasn’t had contact with them.

“I wasn’t that worried (when I first spoke with them) because I thought they’d be fine, but now I have no contact with them so I’m worried out of my mind,” Boroujerdi said.

There has been very little, if any, news on happenings and damages in Slidell, Boroujerdi said.

Nick Tsai, junior in LAS, also hasn’t heard much about the hurricane in his hometown of Metairie, La., a suburb about 15 minutes from New Orleans. The expected damages aren’t too severe, he said.

“I was fearing we wouldn’t have a place to go home to,” Tsai said. “It was a miracle that we didn’t get hit too bad.”

Tsai’s family evacuated to Houston, Texas, but Tsai’s contact with them has also been limited.

“Getting in touch is hard,” Tsai said. “I feel like I should be with my family, not here going to class, and having fun when they are so inconvenienced.”

Hurricane Katrina has also hit other parts of the South hard – Jessica Elmore, sophomore in FAA from Mobile, Ala., says she already knows of some damage in her area. Along with flooding, parts of her home’s roof has detached and trees have fallen. In addition, damage still left over from Hurricane Ivan, which hit Alabama in 2004 extrabates the problem, she said.

“We had a condo when Ivan hit and it was completely blown away,” said Elmore. “We just rebuilt it, so we’ll see if that’s still there (after Katrina)”

Attending the University during the hurricane situation is not easy, said Elmore.

“It’s really hard to be up here,” Elmore said. “I know my parents will be okay, but it’s really sad. It’s my hometown.”

Tsai said he has many friends in New Orleans and spends much of his time in the city. He is not sure what to expect when he returns.

“I’ve done a lot in the city, all the culture is in New Orleans,” Tsai said. “It’s definitely a big part of my life and it’s one of my main concerns after my family.”

Boroujerdi said he has never experienced a hurricane of Katrina’s magnitude, but is optimistic about the situation.

“All I can do is hope and pray that everyone ends up okay,” Boroujerdi said.