Hurricane Katrina

It seems that there are more and more hurricanes each year that strike the coast. Last year I remember only a couple really hitting the US, and it was mainly Florida. This year when Katrina was coming I didn’t pay much attention – another big hurricane. It didn’t hit Florida too bad, but other coastal cities like Louisanna and Mississippi have been hit very badly. We are lucky here to not have to face these types of storms. The recent tornadoes in Stoughton WI were bad enough, I’d hate to have to deal with the kind of devastation they’re facing down south now. I heard from a couple of people that at best it could take 3 weeks to drain the New Orleans area of the water. I also heard from others that it might be nearly impossible to rebuild New Orleans after this type of total devastation, both financially and physically. Those who have lost homes and businesses will most certainly have a long, hard uphill battle in the coming months. Use the link below to read a recent Milwaukee Sentinel story on the devastation.

Article on Hurricane Katrina

If you’d like to help, here are places that are taking donations and recruiting volunteers:

American Red Cross (800) HELP NOW (435-7669) English; (800) 257-7575 Spanish
Operation Blessing (800) 436-6348
America's Second Harvest (800) 344-8070

To donate cash or volunteer

Adventist Community Services (800) 381-7171
Catholic Charities, USA (703) 549-1390
Christian Disaster Response (941) 956-5183 or (941) 551-9554
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (800) 848-5818
Church World Service (800) 297-1516
Convoy of Hope (417) 823-8998
Lutheran Disaster Response (800) 638-3522
Mennonite Disaster Service (717) 859-2210
Nazarene Disaster Response (888) 256-5886
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (800) 872-3283
Salvation Army (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769)
Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief (800) 462-8657, ext. 6133
United Methodist Committee on Relief (800) 554-8583