Disaster Relief: Hurricanes Katrina, Rita & Wilma

From Peter:

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Deaf Woman Reunited

We had about 20 volunteers from The Family International on Day Four. About 10 of them were in the George R. Brown Convention Center which is on the other side of the Astrodome area. Later in the day John B and his team came in and did a clown show there. Most of them spent most of their day going around talking to people and encouraging them. Tim was working with Carolyn who was trying to set up some kind of missing persons system — it exists, but it exists in pieces all over the place — and they’re trying to pull it together. So Tim was working in the Convention Center, Carolyn was working in the Astrodome Center and they will hopefully be able to pull something together so they will have a complete listing of everyone who’s registered, so if somebody comes and says they’ve lost my son or my daughter, they’ll be able to check if they are in the area. That will be very good and seems to be going very well.

Topaz and I went in really early to the Astrodome area because we’re trying to set up something for the children so we can have an area that we can use with tables for activities, have magazines, etc. But we spent most of our day in the medical area. They are always looking for someone with a special skill and they asked if anyone knew sign language. Topaz is able to do some sign language so she offered her services and went in. The lady was about 40, she has five children — she’s separated from all of them, and one of them she’s lost completely — a 16-year-old.

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From Shad:

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Comfort for Those Who Mourn

We’ve been able to sit and talk with many people who have lost virtually everything and they all have a story to tell. Several people told us that the first buses that arrived at the Astrodome were not FEMA buses but school buses that had been commandeered by individuals and picked up whoever they could on their way out of New Orleans. One elderly man had been in a house where the water rose up to cover most the second floor, until his brother-in-law found him and pulled him out and took him by boat to an elevated highway. Several people are walking around the Astrodome with signs with the names of loved ones they are looking for — not knowing if they’ve survived or not. Most have nothing to do during the day and are anxious for a listening ear and someone to talk to. We prayed with people who were in tears and have been able to give comforting messages to hundreds.

Peter - Day 4 - Houston

Peter - Day 3 - Houston

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From Peter:

The next day we returned to the Astrodome and we met another team of Family International volunteers and we all headed to the hospital area that seemed to be the most needy at that time. There was already an improvement in the appearance of people — they were beginning to get washed up, and they were getting some clothes. But overnight they were still bringing in people to the Astrodome and the sea of people had grown up from the floor through the tiered seats because there was no more room for cots. That day in the medical area it was Topaz, myself and 4 young people who were also there from The Family international — and three of them were working on registration and helping people move through the medical department and getting them to where they were supposed to go.

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From Peter:

My wife, Topaz, and I were the first volunteers from The Family International to have access to the evacuees at the Astrodome. We entered the Astrodome on the 4th floor and we looked down and all we could see was a sea of green cots with people on them — many, many people milling around. At that time there were about 12,000 people there and they were coming in as fast as the buses could unload them. So we went down to the floor and most of the people hadn’t showered or changed clothes since the hurricane had hit — so they were mostly in pretty bad way. The first thing we did was we helped the new arrivals by finding a spot for them, setting up cots, getting them blankets and whatever else we could do.

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