USA (MNN) ― Aid teams are already on their way to the Gulf to help with the cleanup after Hurricane Gustav slammed into Hurricane Katrina's footprint.
Bill Adams, Director of Disaster Response Services for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, says they were ready for a quick response.
Their teams were already in the vulnerable areas building homes for Hurricane Katrina's survivors. The agency has an active list of over 2,000 volunteers, some of whom are already scheduled to arrive on the Gulf Coast over the next few weeks to continue ongoing reconstruction projects after Hurricane Katrina.
They pulled most of their teams back once word of the storm arrived. However, CRWRC-DRS construction coordinator Arnie Gustafsen is traveling from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to southeast Louisiana assessing damage and determining emergency response needs. Gustafsen will travel to the Houma and Lake Charles, Louisiana areas as safety and weather allow.
Once they are able to gauge an appropriate response, "We hope to get back building homes. The other area where the eye of the storm actually came in is in Houma, Louisiana. There we're going to send a team that will be heading down to Houma. The roads are still closed."
CRWRC has more than 30 local emergency response partners in the Gulf States who will experience the impact of Gustav.
"Our volunteers and local partners have rebuilt about 5,000 homes in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi in the last three years," Adams notes. "Those families and homes are again in jeopardy, in addition to those who are still living with damage from Hurricane Katrina on a daily basis."
Adams says many families are reliving their nightmares of three years ago. "We tell our people 'Go in, start to help, and then when people ask you, you take the opportunity.' More often than not, we have an opportunity to share our faith and to pray with people who are really hurting."
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