Federal, Volunteer Agencies Mobilize for Hurricane Rita
Federal and private agencies are preparing for Hurricane Rita, mobilizing workers, equipment, and rescue teams for the efforts as the Category 5 storm approaches Texas in the Gulf Coast. Over 1.3 million have already been called to evacuate.
Federal and private agencies are preparing for Hurricane Rita, mobilizing workers, equipment, and rescue teams for the efforts as the Category 5 storm approaches Texas in the Gulf Coast. Over 1.3 million have already been called to evacuate.
Efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief have been moving quickly in anticipation of the storm which has reached sustained wind speeds of 165 mph, reaching the most intense classification of hurricanes on the Saffir-Sampson scale.
Galveston, Texas, New Orleans, La., and low-lying parts of Houston were told to evacuate. Houston Mayor Bill White urged people living in flood prone areas to leave, calling on employers to let non-essential employees leave for the next two days. He warned that government help might not be enough.
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“We need citizens who may need assistance in evacuating to reach out to friends, family, relatives, neighbors,” the mayor said according to the Associated Press.
“There will not be enough government vehicles to go and evacuate everybody in the area" he said.
He added citizens should be a first line of defense and urged them "to do your job and to go out and to actively look for those who may need assistance."
The government has so far mobilized FEMA to help. The agency has already ordered the mobilization of buses to evacuate people from the affected areas. R. David Paulison, the acting director of FEMA has asked the Defense Department for six-heavy lift helicopters, a 2,500 bed hospital system, a food kitchen to serve at least 500,000 meals and equipment to bridge impassable, flooded roads, the Washington Post reported.
In addition, FEMA reports that it is sending 45 truckloads of water, and 45 truckloads of “Meals Ready to Eat” in Texas, with 9 Urban Search and Rescue Task forces and 9 Disaster Medical Assistant teams preparing.
Paulison called Rita a “huge storm,” adding that “it covers most of the gulf.”
“We want to make sure we’re ready. I’d rather pre-deploy more assets than we need than not have enough,” he said, according to the Washington Post.
The Red Cross, which is currently the largest private relief agency, said it hoped to gather about 40,000 new volunteers for Rita and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts to staff shelters and distribute food. Christian groups already mobilizing their teams of people to serve hot meals to victims include the Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
Southern Baptist relief team volunteers have already prepared 3.5 million meals for Katrina victims who have been helping to prepare most of the meals for Red Cross teams in the region, with 5,000 total volunteers serving throughout the Katrina affected states. As of Sept. 16, the Salvation Army had served 2 million meals, and offered pastoral counseling to Hurricane Katrina victims who have been dispersed throughout the country.
