Disaster staff reflect on Hurricane Katrina, one year later.

Church of the Brethren Disaster Response continues to rebuild and repair homes on the Gulf coast following the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina a year ago. Aug. 29 marked the first anniversary of Katrina's heartrending devastation.

Although the storm made landfall in southeastern Louisiana, heavy damage can be found within a 100-mile radius of the storm's center in Mississippi and Alabama, as well as in Louisiana, reports Brethren Disaster Response, a program of the Church of the Brethren General Board. "The official death toll attributed to Katrina has climbed to 1,836, making Katrina the deadliest hurricane since 1928," said Jane Yount, Brethren Disaster Response coordinator, in a Sept. 1 update. "Katrina is also by far the costliest hurricane in US history, with $75 billion in damages. An estimated 350,000 homes were destroyed and many thousands more damaged."

"With the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina behind us, we are thankful for all the volunteers who have followed Jesus' call to be His hands and His feet," said Zach Wolgemuth, associate director of Emergency Response. "As we head into the second year since one of our nation's worst natural disasters, communities and longterm recovery organizations are organizing and beginning the process of rebuilding. The demand for the services provided by Church of the Brethren Disaster Response is great," he added.

Brethren Disaster Response is in the process of opening a new project site in Louisiana, and likely will open another site on the Gulf coast this winter, staff report. This is in addition to the current project site in Mississippi and one in Pensacola, Fla., following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005.

The new site in St. Tammany Parish, La., is scheduled to open Oct. 15. St. Tammany Parish is northeast of New Orleans on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. "As a result of the rainfall and storm surge, the level of Lake Pontchartrain rose and caused significant flooding along its northeastern shore, affecting the town of Slidell and surrounding communities," Yount reported. Brethren Disaster Response has been in conversation with the longterm recovery committee in St. Tammany Parish--Northshore Recovery, Inc.--and the group is eager for assistance, Yount said. Work will include all types of major repairs to homes that have incurred flood and wind damage, along with some debris clean up and demolition.

Preparations are underway for two Brethren Disaster Response trainings for volunteer leadership this fall. Twenty-five people have responded to the invitation to attend hands-on, two-week trainings at Pensacola on Oct. 1-14 and at Lucedale on Oct. 22-Nov. 4. Participants will learn all aspects of managing a disaster response project including construction, safety, volunteer management, hospitality, and cooking; trainees will be prepared to take the roles of disaster project director, disaster project assistant, or household manager. For more information go to www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm.

Source: 9/13/2006 Newsline