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We all watched in horror as one of the worst storms in the history of American tore through New Orleans, and
along the Gulf coast.
Want to know one of the most startling statistics of all? Three years after Hurricane Katrina, nearly 40,000 families
still are living in vulnerable mobile homes and trailers across the U.S. Gulf Coast with another hurricane season
just two months away, the top U.S. disaster official said on Wednesday.
Inconceivable.
The number is down from about 100,000 families, or some 300,000 people, in April 2006. It's almost unbelievable
that American citizens have not been tended to in the wake of such an awful tragedy. It's sickening to think that they
may continue to be displaced for many years to come.
At one point following the devastating 2005 hurricane season, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency
was housing 143,000 families in mobile homes and trailers.
FEMA Administrator, David Paulison said the agency, which was heavily criticized for its hapless response when
Katrina swamped New Orleans, is moving about 800 families a week into hotels, motels or apartments. But is
this enough? Not nearly.
The families are either living at group sites or in trailers in the driveways of their homes as they rebuild. Scariest of
all is that they could be hit yet again. The six-month Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, and forecasters
around the country are expecting above-average storm activity.
"As far as rebuilding, I did expect it to take this long," Paulison told a small group of reporters at the National
Hurricane Conference in Orlando. "But as far as housing people, I did not foresee that they would be there almost
three years later."
Neither did they; neither did we.
Katrina killed an estimated 1,500 people and caused $80 billion in damage when it swept ashore in late August
2005 near New Orleans, shattering the levees protecting the low-lying city and swamping entire neighborhoods.
The three worst storms of 2005 -- Katrina, Rita and Wilma -- together caused about $110 billion in damages. The
record-shattering season produced 28 tropical storms.
We watched in disbelief as the Federal Government stood by and did next to nothing during this catastrophe. And
three years later, it looks like nothing much has changed.
Experts say that the presence of so many people in the flimsy temporary housing complicates preparations for the
hurricane season because those families must be evacuated in the event of a threatening storm. It seems that
they are indefinitely doomed to be nomads, wandering from place to place unsure of what will happen next.
Have we forgotten about them?
Paulison said the agency was on target to move everyone from the group sites by June 1 but was having "a lot of
trouble" getting some of those displaced by Katrina to move again, even from cramped mobile homes that are
often reduced to rubble in big storms.
"People simply don't want to move," he said. "It hasn't been as easy a task to get people out as we thought it might
be."
This sounds like a familiar tune. Bottom line... there's no excuse for not providing more assistance to those
hardest hit by this storm. It's heartbreaking to see our government standing idly by again.
Please remember to pray for the victims of Hurrican Katrina, and continue to support organizations and charities
offering assistance. If you desire to help, Friends of New Orleans is a is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan,
membership organization that provides a vehicle for people in the US and abroad who care about this region, to
declare their support and get involved.
Above all else, contine to pray for the individuals and families still struggling to recover from such a terrible
disaster and enormous loss.
along the Gulf coast.
Want to know one of the most startling statistics of all? Three years after Hurricane Katrina, nearly 40,000 families
still are living in vulnerable mobile homes and trailers across the U.S. Gulf Coast with another hurricane season
just two months away, the top U.S. disaster official said on Wednesday.
Inconceivable.
The number is down from about 100,000 families, or some 300,000 people, in April 2006. It's almost unbelievable
that American citizens have not been tended to in the wake of such an awful tragedy. It's sickening to think that they
may continue to be displaced for many years to come.
At one point following the devastating 2005 hurricane season, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency
was housing 143,000 families in mobile homes and trailers.
FEMA Administrator, David Paulison said the agency, which was heavily criticized for its hapless response when
Katrina swamped New Orleans, is moving about 800 families a week into hotels, motels or apartments. But is
this enough? Not nearly.
The families are either living at group sites or in trailers in the driveways of their homes as they rebuild. Scariest of
all is that they could be hit yet again. The six-month Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, and forecasters
around the country are expecting above-average storm activity.
"As far as rebuilding, I did expect it to take this long," Paulison told a small group of reporters at the National
Hurricane Conference in Orlando. "But as far as housing people, I did not foresee that they would be there almost
three years later."
Neither did they; neither did we.
Katrina killed an estimated 1,500 people and caused $80 billion in damage when it swept ashore in late August
2005 near New Orleans, shattering the levees protecting the low-lying city and swamping entire neighborhoods.
The three worst storms of 2005 -- Katrina, Rita and Wilma -- together caused about $110 billion in damages. The
record-shattering season produced 28 tropical storms.
We watched in disbelief as the Federal Government stood by and did next to nothing during this catastrophe. And
three years later, it looks like nothing much has changed.
Experts say that the presence of so many people in the flimsy temporary housing complicates preparations for the
hurricane season because those families must be evacuated in the event of a threatening storm. It seems that
they are indefinitely doomed to be nomads, wandering from place to place unsure of what will happen next.
Have we forgotten about them?
Paulison said the agency was on target to move everyone from the group sites by June 1 but was having "a lot of
trouble" getting some of those displaced by Katrina to move again, even from cramped mobile homes that are
often reduced to rubble in big storms.
"People simply don't want to move," he said. "It hasn't been as easy a task to get people out as we thought it might
be."
This sounds like a familiar tune. Bottom line... there's no excuse for not providing more assistance to those
hardest hit by this storm. It's heartbreaking to see our government standing idly by again.
Please remember to pray for the victims of Hurrican Katrina, and continue to support organizations and charities
offering assistance. If you desire to help, Friends of New Orleans is a is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan,
membership organization that provides a vehicle for people in the US and abroad who care about this region, to
declare their support and get involved.
Above all else, contine to pray for the individuals and families still struggling to recover from such a terrible
disaster and enormous loss.
Post-Katrina Special Report: Families Still Homeless
by EEW Editors
by EEW Editors
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EEW Magazine is a division of Hobbs Ministries, a Subsidiary of Training for Reigning Inc.
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