The anniversary of Hurricane Katrina passed in the same way that it began, with a hurricane.
Hurricane Gustav roared through Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba and the United States. Gustav reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. It caused more than 120 deaths as of last Wednesday, Sept. 3. The amount of serious damage is predicted to be more than 20 billion dollars. In comparison, Katrina resulted in more than 1,800 deaths in total and 81.2 billion dollars in damages.
During Hurricane Katrina, the American Red Cross Association sprang into action to help all those affected by Katrina. More than 200 Red Cross shelters were erected during the early days of Katrina. Many people were evacuated to safe areas outside of Katrina’s path. Some were evacuated too late.
The Red Cross pleaded with people to donate and give to those who really had nothing of their own left in the world. Celebrities raised money to donate to the Red Cross and alleviate some of the suffering of Katrina’s victims.
Now, the Red Cross is in action again to help those left suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. NEIU is doing its part ot help these people in their time of need.
NEIU has been designated as one of 500 American Red Cross Mass Care Shelters. It is also the only mass care shelter in Chicago for evacuees of Hurricane Gustav. They are being housed at NEIU’s PE Complex. The Red Cross has said that about 40 evacuees are expected to arrive from places affected by the hurricane like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
Right now, there are more than 45,000 people in more than 300 Red Cross shelters. These shelters span over eight states. Many of these evacuees have had to leave all their worldly possessions in their flooded homes.
The Red Cross prides itself on providing three things to those who turn to them for assistance: Food, shelter and emotional support. On the American Red Cross website (redcross.org), they stress that these “basic life-saving necessities” are their top priority.
Even though Hurricane Gustav is gone, residents might not be able to go back to their homes and inspect the damages caused by the storm. The Red Cross is warning the evacuated residents not to go back to their homes until local officials say that it is safe to come back. There are still dangers like fallen trees, cut power lines, flooded roads and general debris that could be hazardous to residents. Only now are residents slowly being transported back so that they can begin to rebuild their homes and communities.