It's not over

I'm battening down the hatches - lightly; bringing in the deck furniture is not such a strain. But Hanna's coming, and lots of places will be worse hit than here. Ike and Josephine are out there, and who knows where they'll hit? So I pass on to you this email I got from the Red Cross today:

I wrote last week when Hurricane Gustav was bearing down on the Gulf Coast. This week, while our work is far from done with Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna makes landfall tonight and we are prepared to help people in her path. Hanna leads a lineup of hurricanes that are threatening more lives and communities, with Ike and Josephine just behind. This forces us to deal with certain realities of Red Cross disaster relief.

The reality is … tens of thousands of Gustav victims are still relying on us despite the perception that the Gulf Coast wasn’t heavily affected by the storm. Many still can’t return home. Feeding families and individuals remains a major focus for the Red Cross, and as people return to their homes, we stand ready with emergency assistance which will include:

• Sheltering those who've lost power or find their homes unlivable.


• Mobilizing feeding to affected neighborhoods.


• Distributing clean-up kits like mops, brooms, cleaning supplies, and work gloves.

The reality is …tonight people along the eastern seaboard brace for Hanna’s hit. The Red Cross is there: five days ago we began pre-positioning staff, supplies and vehicles across four states.

The reality is … helping Gustav victims alone may cost between $40 - $70 million. And our Disaster Relief Fund is empty as we spent all that was raised for flood relief this summer to provide services in the Midwest.

Major storms threaten at this very moment, as current relief operations are continuing. Your donations are badly needed as Red Cross disaster assistance has to rely on voluntary donations of time and money.

The reality is … people count on us to help out when disaster strikes. Especially when they lack the basic necessities they need to care for themselves and their families.

With your help, we can continue to provide food to the hungry…shelter to those who need it…and comfort to many families and individuals during the most difficult time of their lives. These storms will have an impact. You can too. Please consider helping today.