Hurricane Rita Update

I have not been in contact with all you since last year and thought that you may be interested in some of the activities that are ongoing here in the state of Louisiana.

Five months since Rita hit this area, we in FEMA are still working to bring life back to normal. We came to this area within weeks after this storm and immediately were tasked with finding people who were still around, or had just returned from the evacuation, to pass out information on obtaining FEMA assistance. We also met with many elderly residents who had no idea what to do or where to turn. In many instances, we were able to direct them to shelters or some of the few agencies that were up and running (such as the fire department) for assistance.

We set up mobile disaster recovery centers, which traveled around the state to allow victims (especially the elderly) to review and adjust their FEMA claims close to their homes. This allowed the infirm and disabled people, who may not have been able to visit a fixed location, an opportunity to review their claims.

As time went on, we visited more homes and advised the victims (in many cases elderly people) of the potential mold problem and what could be done. In some cases we had to advise people that their home was unsafe to live in.

Since before Christmas we have been visiting with victims in our local hotels to advise them of their options for returning to a normal life. In many cases we spoke to elderly people who were still disoriented due to the disaster and could not make proper decisions. We solicited the assistance of the Volunteers of America, a crisis-counseling group in the state, who came out with us and started immediate case management efforts with these individuals. In many cases, they were dealing with mentally disabled people, along with the elderly.

Currently, we have almost 15000 people in Southwest Louisiana alone who are in need of a temporary travel trail, while waiting for their home to be made habitable or an apartment to become available. Of that population, over 500 are still living in a hotel, in which the subsidy will end by March 1. We have placed over 6000 trailers at this point, with 50 a day ready for occupancy. If you do the math, you can see the dilemma we still face.

We are diligently working with the many social and religious organizations in the area and the state to get these people housed and cared for.

I just wanted to let you know that, contrary to popular news items, Rita was every bit as devastating as Katrina, and we are still out here working for the elderly disaster victims as well as all of the others that are still in need of help.