Katrina has killed more than 70 people
CITYWIDE — The hurricane that pulverized the Gulf Coast this week is being felt far and wide, including in Santa Monica, where the local Red Cross is rallying to help victims.
Representatives from the Santa Monica Chapter of the American Red Cross said on Wednesday they are supporting the national disaster relief effort being mounted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The effort, already the largest in the national organization’s history, involves Santa Monica volunteers, with more local residents expected to participate in weeks ahead.
Karen Donoho, a disaster services volunteer from the Santa Monica chapter, left for Florida on Monday. She will be stationed in Miami, where the American Red Cross is conducting ongoing relief efforts.
Christy Courtemanche, another local chapter member, leaves today for Houston, Texas, a staging area for the Red Cross. From Houston, Christy will most likely be assigned to a location in Louisiana or another affected state.
As of press time, more than 70 people were believed to be dead as a result of Katrina, which had winds of up to 100 miles per hour along the Gulf Coast and is believed to have caused $26 billion in damage to parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
Breaches in at least one levee allowed water from Lake Pontchartrain to inundate sections of New Orleans. Canal Street was literally a canal, according to some reports. Dozens of people have been rescued from roofs and attics.
Meanwhile, organizations such as the Red Cross are hoping to be able to assist some 485,000 people ordered to evacuate. In addition, 370,000 people are believed to be without power in southeast Louisiana, and that number is expected to rise, according to reports.
New Orleans water is unsafe to drink without boiling.
Disaster relief officials said it could be months before many families can return home. In response, the American Red Cross has launched the largest mobilization of resources for a single natural disaster in its history, involving thousands of trained disaster relief workers, tons of supplies and many shoulders on which to lean.
Courtemanche is expected to assist with Red Cross efforts for three weeks. She worked for Federal Express before she took an opportunity to do relief work in Kosovo and Albania almost 10 years ago.
That work changed her life, she said. Courtemanche has been volunteering with the Red Cross and other organizations like it since.
“I don’t feel special, I feel lucky,” Courtemanche said. “I feel lucky that my life allows me to be called at any moment to the scene of a hurricane, fire or some other disaster, and help.
“I think a lot of people would like to do what I’m doing.”
Robert Chapman, a Red Cross Santa Monica chapter representative, said local volunteers who go out on national disaster calls such as Katrina are listed in a national database. They are certified in first aid and CPR, as well as having received extensive training in areas such as shelter management, mass care, damage assessment, logistics, family services, mental health or other areas.
Five volunteers from Santa Monica’s chapter are currently enrolled in the data-base and have served in New York City during the Sept. 11 attacks, worked the Arizona wildfires in 2003 and 2004, and provided disaster relief services in Florida after Hurricane Charley last year.
Working at a major national disaster is excellent training for chapter volunteers in terms of being prepared for when a local disaster strikes, Chapman said.
The American Red Cross, based on current damage assessments, estimates that the Red Cross’ portion of the Katrina relief effort will cost more than the total damage caused by the four major hurricanes that struck the United States in 2004. At this time, the Red Cross has 230 shelters open, serving more than 40,000 evacuees in five states. Arrangements have been made in association with Southern Baptist churches to provide more than 500,000 hot meals daily.
The $130 million needed for Red Cross disaster services as a result of Katrina is only an estimate and may change, depending on updated damage assessment figures and the amount of assistance needed by the families affected by the event.
The Red Cross is committed for the long haul to meeting the immediate emergency needs of disaster victims in the weeks and months ahead, Chapman said.
“The organization anticipates the costs of this disaster to be significant and that financial help from the public is needed and appreciated,” Chapman said.
For donations or information, call (310) 394-3773 or visit www.redcrossof-santamonica.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 31, 2005. Read the original PDF.