Evacuation update and what you can do!
This comes from Trouble The Water producers.
Dear Friend,
With New Orleans and its vulnerable levee system in the path of another
hurricane, we have received hundreds of phone calls and emails expressing
concern about Kimberly and Scott Roberts, the couple featured in “Trouble
the Water.”
We are writing to let you know that the Roberts have safely evacuated from
New Orleans along with their family and their pets. They join hundreds of
thousands of others who are leaving the Gulf Coast in advance of Hurricane
Gustav’s landfall there.
Thanks to public pressure and organizing after Katrina, this time officials
appear to have provided some transportation for those they failed to
evacuate three years ago, including tens of thousands of New Orleans
residents without access to vehicles and thousands of others who are
hospitalized and incarcerated.
While the federal government bears primary responsibility for disaster
response and relief efforts, the response by the Bush Administration’s
Federal Emergency Management Agency to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was
grossly mismanaged and tragically inadequate. So we have compiled a list of
non-governmental relief agencies and community-based organizations — with
records of responsiveness and accountability — that are working on the
ground now.
Please go to our website, review the work of these organizations and
consider contributing to their efforts.
One of these groups engaged in long term rebuilding as well as disaster
relief is the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF ). LDRF has
implemented an expedited emergency relief disbursal system to enable
grassroots nonprofit organizations located throughout the state’s coastal
regions to aid hurricane survivors whose need is greatest.
Thank you for taking action today. And while supporting non-governmental
relief efforts, please also keep the pressure on FEMA and the Bush
Administration in the days and weeks ahead.
Sincerely,
Tia Lessin & Carl Deal
My prayers go out to all the families - may they be safe and hope that the devastation is not nearly what they’re predicting. These are indeed crazy times!
