The Gulf Coast, just barely in the first stages of recovering
from Hurricane Katrina, now reels from the impact of Hurricane
Rita. There is stark contrast in local and federal responses to
these hurricanes, both as they approached and after they left, and
much has, will and ought to be made of that.
The Gulf Coast, just barely in the first stages of recovering from Hurricane Katrina, now reels from the impact of Hurricane Rita. There is stark contrast in local and federal responses to these hurricanes, both as they approached and after they left, and much has, will and ought to be made of that.
However, we believe it is also appropriate to take the spotlight off the tragedies and point it in the direction of people trying to help.
Many South Valley residents have given generously of their money and time to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. They are shining examples of the best of our community, and we offer them our gratitude.
Some efforts have been noted in the paper – from local residents traveling to Louisiana to offer assistance, to fundraising events to stuffed animal drives – and many more forms of assistance have been quietly offered away from the spotlight, but just as appreciated. Many in the corporate world – from McDonald’s to the NFL – have been quick to respond as well.
These back-to-back hurricanes have changed hundreds of thousands of lives – swept away photographs, business inventories, homes and lives. Our response should be commensurate with the need, and so far our community and our nation are off to a good start.
In circumstances like this, the Red Cross and other charities encourage cash rather than material donations. Cash donations get to the victims fastest, and offer the charities the flexibility to purchase the items that are most needed.
Sadly, tragedies also bring out grifters and con artists. We encourage our readers to be on the lookout for fraudulent appeals, an inevitable and lamentable by-product of tragedy. We also encourage readers to continue to give to the agencies that offer assistance in crises – not all of the tragedies to which they respond get the media attention that hurricanes attract, but these agencies respond no matter how many reporters are on the scene.
These terrible events should also serve as reminders to local officials and South Valley residents to review emergency plans. City and county officials need to make sure they’ve planned for every contingency in the event of a overwhelming natural disaster. Because the ground beneath South Valley is cracked like old china, that disaster is most likely to be a high-magnitude earthquake. Residents need to make sure they’re prepared to survive several days without food, power or water in the event of a natural disaster.
The government’s response might have been less than ideal in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but Americans in general and South Valley residents in particular have been generous and empathetic to the victims, and we applaud them for it. Now let’s learn the lessons of the hurricanes and prepare for the unexpected so we can minimize the help we’ll need when an earthquake strikes.
