September 15, 2008
Relief Groups See Long Lines and Extensive Needs in Texas After Ike
By Caroline Preston
Charities were scrambling on Monday to feed and shelter hundreds of thousands of people affected by Hurricane Ike. Relief workers said the storm, while not as damaging as they feared, would require a labor-intensive response and cost charities millions of dollars.
“Although this hit as a Category 2 level storm, the devastation is close to Category 5 in terms of the number of power outages and how hard-hit Galveston was,” said Andy Miller III, corps officer at the Salvation Army’s office in Arlington, Texas.
The disaster follows on the heels of Hurricane Gustav, which hit Louisiana during Labor Day weekend and required an extensive charity response to provide shelter to people who evacuated during the storm. Many groups say their expenses for that relief effort outpaced donations.
Expenses related to Hurricane Ike are expected to be even higher.
“It was a larger storm so we anticipated a larger response,” said Christoph Gorder, vice president of emergency response at AmeriCares. “Gustav was a destructive storm, and I think the damage has been underplayed, but this hit a very populated area whereas Gustav didn’t.”
Charity workers were bracing for growing numbers of people seeking food, water, and shelter. Electricity isn’t expected to return to parts of the state for weeks.
“We are dealing with sizable numbers of people who are going to be there for a while,” said Jonathan Aiken, director of media relations with the American Red Cross.
On Monday, the charity had more than 2,000 people and 100 emergency vehicles operating in the state.
Ross Fraser, a spokesman for Feeding America, said the food bank in Houston was preparing to provide an estimated 500,000 pounds of food per day for the next six weeks. The charity gave out 39 million pounds of food in all of 2006.
The Katrina Effect
Charity officials said they remained very concerned about their ability to raise money for the storm’s victims. One challenge, they said, is that the news-media has focused on how both Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are less damaging than Hurricane Katrina, not on those people made homeless by the storms.
“One of the things that’s going to hurt us is that everyone was expecting Ike to be Katrina-2,” said Mr. Fraser. “When other disasters pale in comparison, it’s always hard to get the attention of the public.”
Charities said they have so far seen no influx of donations for Ike. But a few companies and foundations have announced gifts over the past few days, in what appears to be a stronger initial response than corporations made after Hurricane Gustav.
Lowe’s Companies and the Home Depot Foundation each pledged grants of $1-million to victims of Ike and other storms. Marathon Oil Corporation pledged $1.5-million.
On Friday, the McCormick Foundation announced a $2-million fund-raising campaign for victims of Ike, a step it did not take in advance of Hurricane Gustav.
Kristin Kiss, senior communications officer, said the foundation’s officials had been persuaded to take action because of the dire weather predictions issued for Ike. Before Gustav, they were also concerned that many more hurricanes would rip through the Gulf Coast.
“We held back knowing that there were two other hurricanes coming down the pike,” she said.
Houston Suburbs
The Salvation Army served over 1,500 meals in southeastern Houston suburb of Pasadena Monday afternoon after establishing a staging area outside a Boys & Girls club. The entire area is without power.
“I was little surprised by the demand but happy that we were here,” says Captain Edward Alonzo, a Salvation Army incident commander.
Three tractor-trailers of food arrived Monday along with a half dozen additional food-service canteens from as far away as West Virginia and South Carolina. A shortage of fuel has slowed the charity’s ability to send food trucks into the hardest-hit areas, though as many as seven canteens have been dispatched.
Hundreds of area residents were in line well before the charity began yesterday’s breakfast feeding, many voicing frustration over the on-going power outages and closed stores. Many people are looking for ice, which the Salvation Army does not supply.
“What stores are open have huge lines and are only taking cash,” says area resident Manuel Ferez, while waiting for his serving of chicken and dumplings from a Salvation Army canteen. “How can you get cash when the banks are closed and the ATMs don’t work? And there’s a gas shortage. We can’t drive around all day looking for places that are open.”
With operations ramping up, the Salvation Army hopes to serve several thousands meals today and plans to activate a truck-based field kitchen that arrived yesterday from Florida.
“Our efforts are growing here,” says Captain Alonzo. “We will be here for awhile.”
Brennen Jensen contributed to this article.
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It would be really great if Chronicle of Philanthropy could also cover the devastation and relief efforts in Cuba and Haiti.
— Robyn Sep 16, 02:46 PM #