Ike wasn't Katrina, Galveston isn't New Orleans, and the
Bolivar Peninsula isn't the Mississippi gulf coast. Perhaps Ike wasn't the same magnitude of
storm; it certainly didn't leave Galveston flooded for three weeks or longer as
in post Katrina New Orleans. One thing,
however, is exactly the same: losing everything in a hurricane. Whether it is Katrina or Ike, Louisiana or
Texas, there are always plenty of hurting people left in the wake of any
hurricane.
I heard recently from our partner Jerry Davis that 75% of Galveston is
uninhabitable. That statistic is
surprising because it doesn't look like the damage is that bad. Houses are standing and the city seems to
have been very prompt with debris removal. Looks, as the cliché goes, can be deceiving.
What is not seen is the inside of many of the
homes below the Galveston seawall where the water came up at least three feet. Perhaps that doesn't sound like much water,
but it is enough to soak nearly everything of value below the kitchen
counter. People are returning to find
that just a shell of their home will be usable as everything four feet and
down must be removed to the studs. That's Galveston.
Conditions on the Bolivar peninsula go
from bad to worse. In the town of Port
Bolivar, the sea gutted some buildings such as the volunteer fire department,
and deposited mud and grass in others. It stinks, literally; the smell of the mud, the mold, and the rubbish
can be very strong.
Last week, I met a
young couple who was only able to salvage a few things from their home. Due to the mud, most things were a total loss
and the fate of the home itself is in question. Around the corner, I toured the wife's grandparent's house. What was an immaculate house before the storm
is now filled with grass and mud, the front door destroyed by a sea carried
piling. A lifetime worth of work and
memories is gone.
Further up the Bolivar peninsula the destruction
continues. Buildings are destroyed and
cars are flipped over or buried in the sand. In some places nothing is left. The town of Gilchrist has been virtually wiped from the face of the
earth. People are left with the
distressing thought of what would be
better - to have everything completely gone or to have something left but find it
covered in mud and mold.
People are overwhelmed and hurting. They do not know where to begin this process
and will need much emotional, physical, and spiritual support. Please do not equate a lack of media coverage
with a lack of need.
As a nonprofit, AIM depends
upon the generosity of people like you.
And yet, part of that vision isn't
simply to throw money at problems, but to expose Christians to situations that
will break their hearts and create a holy unrest in them to see the kingdom of
God come to earth.
So, we want to invite the
Body of Christ to unplug from their lives for a week and spend it being the hands
and feet of Jesus to those who are hurting in Galveston.
In a sense, we're asking
for much more than your money. We're asking for you.
The
Church made a huge difference after Katrina and it
can make a difference here.
Please
contact us and one of our staff people can talk to
you about the opportunities.
Hurricane Ike search tems to target five areas as hunt resumes for missing bodies
12:00 AM CDT on Friday, October 3, 2008
The Associated Press
GALVESTON – Search teams looking for as many as 50 people who remain
missing since Hurricane Ike have identified five "hot spots" where they
will focus their efforts, officials said.
PAT SULLIVAN/The Associated Press
Hurricane Ike blew
debris from Bolivar Peninsula to areas including Trinity Bay, near
Anahuac, Texas, where the storm destroyed a fishing camp. Dozens of
people are still missing more than two weeks after Ike struck.
Mounds of debris scattered across Bolivar Peninsula likely conceal the remains of those still missing, authorities said.
The search for bodies also is expected to move offshore to uninhabited
Goat Island, where one storm victim's body was found and where large,
remote piles of debris have collected.
The renewed efforts to
find bodies has come too late for some, including Dallas-area
contractor Raul "Roy" Arrambide, whose mother, sister and nephew
disappeared while evacuating from a beach house in Port Bolivar. The
two vehicles they left in have been found, with no sign of bodies.
"I really don't have any confidence with the way this is being done," Mr. Arrambide said.
Meanwhile,
the Harris County medical examiner's office reported the death of a man
killed when struck by a limb while cutting trees Sept. 27. That brings
the storm's toll in Texas to at least 33.
Also, the state
attorney general's office said it was suing a hotel in Nacogdoches and
one near Katy for raising their rates during hurricane evacuations.
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, as well as the Boeing (BA)
strike, will conspire with an already-deteriorating labor market to
depress U.S. payrolls in the September employment report, scheduled for
release on Oct. 3, raising the risk of an outsize drop in jobs for the
month.
We also expect a further rise in the unemployment rate to 6.2%
from 6.1%, given expected payroll weakness, a deteriorating trend in
weekly initial jobless claims, and a falling labor market reading in
the last consumer confidence report.
We expect payrolls to fall by 100,000 in September, with a drop that
may exceed the 101,000 June decline to mark the biggest pullback in
payrolls since March 2003, when hiring paused with the uncertainty at
the onset of the War in Iraq.
The expected 6.2% unemployment rate would mark the highest level
since June 2003. The average workweek should hold at 33.7 hours, and
average hourly earnings should rise 0.3%, to leave year-over-year
hourly earnings growth a tick below the 3.6% rate posted in August.
Posted in General Posts
by Hurricane Ike Staff
on 10/2/2008
Here are some pictures of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX. We need your help cleaning it up. While we appreciate monetary gifts, we are also asking you consider the gift of yourself, of actually going down there to get your hands dirty, to pray with those who are hurting, and bring hope to the destitute.
Posted in In the News
by Hurricane Ike Staff
on 9/30/2008
We just posted this news release on Christian Newswire:
Adventures In Missions (AIM), a nonprofit organization based in Gainesville, GA, is mobilizing relief teams to repair homes and businesses devastated by Hurricane Ike. They are asking for labor, not donations, to support the effort. Workers are staying with a church in Houston and are engaging in everything from demolition to food distribution in the areas near Galveston that were hardest-hit by the storm.
More photos from our team on the ground in Galveston, TX, where Ike hit almost two weeks ago. We're not just asking for your donations - we're asking for you... to come down to Texas and volunteer some of your time to help bring hope back to this devastated area.
The
wind-versus-flood debate – meaning which caused the damage – was all
the rage three years ago when Katrina and Rita forced impacted
residents to review their insurance policies.
But among
the biggest industry shockers this go-around involves a special
hurricane deductible attached to some homeowners policies.
After hurricanes Gustav and Ike battered Louisiana's coastline this
month, many homeowners expected to see the traditional deductible of
$500 or $1,000 on their policies. Instead, many found a new kind of
deductible based on a percentage of their home's insured value.
For Steven Evans of Houma, that special deductible on his Allstate
policy is $18,000.
Posted in In the News
by Hurricane Ike Staff
on 9/25/2008
Nearly a week after Galveston Island took a severe beating from
hurricane Ike, a Kroger grocery store has finally opened for business,
grilling up fajitas for its employees. With the Texas island still not
ready to take back evacuees, the open store is at least one encouraging
sign of normalcy.
For that is the aim of rescue and relief workers, government officials, neighbors, and perfect strangers who all assist in
the aftermath of any disaster – to help residents return to as normal a life as possible.
But normalcy has its downside in America's hazard-prone areas. If it means rebuilding exactly as everything was before the
hurricane, fire, or earthquake, then business-as-usual is itself hazardous.
Posted in In the News
by Hurricane Ike Staff
on 9/24/2008
Many residents who fled this storm-ravaged island
waited in their cars early Wednesday for permission to return and see
for themselves what Hurricane Ike had done to their homes.
Even before dawn, Galveston-bound traffic was stacked up on
Interstate 45 for 10 miles from the entrance to the only causeway to
the island city left open after the hurricane.
Many Galveston residents haven't been back to their island community
since fleeing Hurricane Ike more than 11 days ago. Island leaders were
to allow them back Wednesday morning.
