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Hurricane Recovery Volunteers Share Some of Their Experiences
By Barry Reichenbaugh
NWS Communications Office
NWS people are dedicated to saving lives and livelihoods, and as an extension of that commitment, a couple dozen NWS employees volunteered along with other NOAA and Commerce Department employees for 30 days or more to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) post Hurricane Katrina/Rita recovery effort.
Volunteers completed FEMA training classes to prepare to assist with recovery efforts in areas impacted by the hurricanes, and then were assigned to duties throughout impacted areas of the South. Following are a few of our volunteers' stories:
Lewis Kozlosky, of the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services in Silver Spring, MD, helped people complete FEMA applications, fill out emergency trailer requests, and access water and ice at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Gretna, LA, just across the river south of New Orleans. He also accompanied FEMA inspectors to some of the hardest hit areas, where cars were hanging off roofs and homes had been swept off their foundations. Many victims just wanted to tell their stories to someone who would listen.
"Some houses were in the middle of the road, and others were wiped clean off their foundations," Kozlosky said. Most houses were ruined by water levels remaining above the roof lines for weeks.
Volunteering to help with the FEMA recovery effort for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provided John Janowiak of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) with his first trip to Mississippi and the Deep South. He said despite the unimaginable destruction he witnessed in the Gulf coastal region of Mississippi and the poor of many disaster victims Janowiak encountered, the only thing he enjoyed more than the food was the people.
"I was amazed by their warmth, patience, and gracious manner."
Like other FEMA volunteers he got a "crash course" - in his case six weeks worth of training packed into three days. The rest he said he learned "on the job."
Janowiak's duty station was a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Picayune, MS, about 45 miles northeast of New Orleans and only a "long heave" from Green Bay Packer Quarterback Bret Favre's hometown of Kiln, MS. The Disaster Recovery Centers are locations where disaster victims can visit to check on their FEMA claims but also to visit other agencies such as IRS, USDA, Small Business Administration, Aging Services, Medicare, Social Services among others.
"The DRC that I worked at consisted of three areas of various sizes in an aging shopping center that appeared to have been abandoned well before Hurricane Katrina. My job was to assist people with their FEMA claims and to direct them to other agencies for which they may be eligible for aid.
"Most of the people I worked with were temporary hires and were themselves disaster victims," Janowiak explained. "So here they were, victims helping victims. Granted they were getting paid and needed the money, but they could also understand the plight of the people that they were serving which was an aspect that I could only imagine but not totally able to comprehend. The range of pre-hurricane occupations of the folks that I worked with varied from shrimpers, a ship captain, casino employees, and a nurse - all presently unemployed because of Hurricane Katrina.
"I witnessed a large area of destruction, including New Orleans, and it's as bad as you've heard but the sheer scale of the destruction, both in intensity and area, is still difficult to comprehend even though I saw it first-hand -- and that was three months after the hurricane," Janowiak said. He met people who were still sleeping in their cars, including some single mothers with pre-teen children.
"The news has focused on New Orleans, but the entire Mississippi coastal region from Louisiana to Alabama is in ruins. The folks in these areas need a lot of assistance and I am glad to have helped in any way that I could."
Cathy L. Burgdorf with the NWS Training Center in Kansas City, MO, was another NWS volunteer with FEMA.
"I was impressed most by how the different government agencies came together as one," Burgdorf said. "I was teamed with volunteers from the IRS, Social Security, NASA, NOAA, and Census. After training in Atlanta, GA, Burgdorf and others were detailed to Jasper, TX, at a FEMA trailer-staging area. Burgdorf said their responsibility was to inspect and track the whereabouts of the trailers.
"We did not have any contact with the victims because these trailers were being delivered by contactors. The contactors came back and told us that people who received the trailers were crying because they again had a roof over their heads. One of the work orders that sticks in my mind was for a family of six who had four boys that had special needs." She said the family had been living in a blue tarp and duct tape tent since the hurricane.
In the 30 days Burgdorf was in Jasper she said her group dispatched 773 trailers.
"Since we could not stay until the close of the trailer staging area, FEMA hired local help to replace us. This was okay because it was helping the economy in that area.
"We did have some hardship but given a chance I would do it again," Burgdorf said. "I could not have done this without the help and support of my family and co-workers. Words could not describe the feel you get by helping other people."
Vicki Langholz, Administrative Support Assistant, WFO Boulder, CO left to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts just before Hurricane Rita hit the Texas/Louisiana coast.
"After two days of training in Orlando, I reported to Baton Rouge where I was then deployed to New Iberia, LA, along with several of my classmates from other agencies. We worked at a Disaster Recovery Center, assisting people with their FEMA claims, answering questions on claims status, updating applicant information, and filling out applications for trailers.
"The area to the south of New Iberia had been inundated by the storm surge from Hurricane Rita. Homes and businesses had been flooded, as well as miles of sugarcane fields. The water ruined furniture, appliances, carpet, etc., and all this debris was piled up in front of the houses. Residents told me they had never had the water come in that far before during previous hurricanes (most of the families had been there for many generations).
"I met many wonderful people, residents and volunteers alike. Some of the local residents were so appreciative of our help they treated us to home-cooked Cajun food."
Steve Flood of NCEP in Camp Springs, MD, arrived at the Joint Field Office (JFO) Orlando, FL, and spent a few days with other FEMA volunteers considering some of the scenarios that might ensue at a Disaster Response Center (DRC). Specifically they discussed FEMA Individual Assistance benefits, and how to help distraught people who had lost most or all of their personal belongings. Next he was deployed to the Joint Field Office in Little Rock, AR, for more training.
"Our main challenge was helping Hurricane Katrina/Rita evacuees who had been put up in hotels by the Red Cross and other volunteer agencies transition into more permanent housing," Flood said. "We went to various hotels in the state hunting eligible people, helping them fill out Evacuee Data Sheets. We then referred them to Arkansas Public Housing for financial assistance with apartment rentals. Catching eligible evacuees in hotels and helping them fill out data sheets was quite time-consuming.
"Many of the New Orleans people who had lost everything to Hurricane Katrina were quite willing to start their lives over in Arkansas," Flood said. "FEMA, in addition to providing Individual Assistance, is willing to help by subsidizing rent, utilities, and furniture for up to six months in public housing. Beyond six month's residence, evacuees in public housing need to show rental receipts in order to qualify for further assistance from FEMA.
"I learned some things about how FEMA works," said Flood. "My main regret is that I wanted to produce more work for FEMA and help more evacuees than I did, in view of what my 30-day tour cost FEMA. I plan on retaining some of my FEMA experience by training with the Red Cross in being an Applicant Advocate or a crisis counselor. My thanks and best wishes go to Delorce Elliott and Daniel Nowlin who worked closely with me, as well as to a number of younger Peace Corps volunteers."
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